The Tension and the Spark
by KoalaLou
Summary: A Spark…it spreads slowly, burns fast and causes all sorts of damage. Bella's daughter, Vanessa, and Edward's son, Jacob are getting married. When Bella and Edward meet, tension builds, and sparks fly. Should they deny their feelings for the sake of their children? Or give in to a new romance? Bpov and Epov.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome to my new story, I'm so pleased you're giving this a go! As a WIP I'm aiming to post fortnightly on Fridays, hopefully with the extra weekly update sometimes. Please follow/favorite this story to get email alerts when I update.**

**I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

The soft, big band rendition of Auld Lang Syne was telling me that old acquaintances shouldn't be forgotten as I pushed open the large wooden door and stepped inside Cope and Son's Bakery.

The old-fashioned store smelled so strongly of fruity batter and cinnamon frosting I could almost taste the delightful confectionery. The big brass bell chimed loudly as I walked further inside, making Mrs. Cope look up from behind the counter and smile at me.

"Bella, dear. How are you?" She asked in her familiar soft tone, as she wiped her hands on a blue and white striped apron that hung around her neck and covered the majority of her floral dress.

"Fine, thanks. I've come to collect my famous, Cope and Son's cake."

"Of course, it's ready and waiting for you." Mrs. Cope turned around and walked to the fridge. She pulled out a large cardboard box, checking the name on the label before turning back to me. "How's Vanessa doing? I bet it's been lovely to have her home for Christmas?"

"Oh, yes," I answered emphatically as Mrs. Cope nodded. Her children made her a grandmother long ago. She was always surrounded by a toddler or two, pulling on the bottom of her apron or getting under her feet.

"She looked so grown up when I saw her last."

"Tell me about it!" I explained, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. "She's got this fiancé, Jake…"

"Oh my! She's engaged? How grown-up!"

"Yeah, and so stubborn. I tried to tactfully suggest waiting until she was older to have the actual wedding, you know, just stay engaged for a while, but they seem set on a ceremony next year." I shrugged, feeling rather helpless in the whole situation.

"Ah, young love." Mrs. Cope sighed, taking a trip down memory lane, probably remembering her own youth. "There is no telling them at that age, dear. They have to make their own mistakes and successes." She patted my hand softly as it rested on the counter between us.

"Yeah, there's no guidebook for that part of parenting," I mused as Mrs. Cope laughed. She removed her hand and looked at me with a warm expression.

"Your Ness is a sensible girl, I'm sure she's picked a nice boy. Jake, did you say?"

I smiled. I only came in to collect a cake, but Mrs. Cope loved local gossip and always had a way of getting anyone to talk.

"Yeah, Jake." I sighed. I liked the kid, I really did, but he was just that ... still a kid. Okay, so he was twenty- two and soon to become my son-in-law, but surely not many boys his age want to get married and tied to one woman for the rest of their lives.

"He seems a nice boy. His family runs a restaurant about twenty minutes away, Masen's. Have you heard of it?"

"Can't say I have, dear, but I don't eat out much these days, not in fancy places."

"Well, the restaurant is close to her and Jake's apartment, and they often help out there for extra cash. I keep meaning to pay it a visit and go spy on his family, but I think Nessie would kill me!" I joked.

Ever since they got engaged, in October, we'd been talking about me meeting his family, after all, they'll be my family soon, and I should meet them before the wedding.

I shook my head, still wondering when I had become old enough to have a daughter who was engaged?

"Is she still going to be with her momma to ring in the New Year?" Mrs. Cope slid the large cake box over the counter to me as I shrugged.

"I really hope so," I told her, trying to ignore her sympathy-filled look as I thanked her and paid for my cake before heading straight home.

Since I was a child, my family always had a celebration cake for New Year's Day. I carried on that tradition with Nessie, even if that meant ordering from Mrs. Cope as I was a lousy baker.

Every year since Nessie was a wobbly toddler, we'd chosen a day between Christmas and New Year to collect the cake together. Except this year. It felt so wrong to collect the cake without her, and I couldn't imagine how wrong it would feel if I had to eat it alone.

I'd seen Nessie for Christmas, but she wasn't sure about her New Year's Eve plans yet. I wanted to tell her to be young and free; to spend New Year's Eve out with Jake and their friends, drinking legally for the first time. But the selfish part of me also wanted to spend this one with her, just like every other one. Her, me, and our celebration cake.

As I settled the cake in the fridge, my cell rang.

"Nessie, darling. Hi, baby."

"Hi, Mom."

"Sweetheart, I've just picked up the cake from Mrs. Cope, it's a big one."

"Mom, you order the same size every year," she reminded me with a laugh in her voice.

"That's because you're here to eat it with me every year."

"Mom…" She whined, and I could almost see the eye roll.

I understood her desire to see in the new year with Jake, but I had hoped to carry on our family tradition. It was always just her and me against the world, and it meant a lot to me to continue that tradition.

"I've spoken to Jake, and we've got an idea about New Year's Eve…" she started as I grabbed a glass and added cold water from the jug I'd pulled out of the fridge. I leaned on the countertop, waiting with bated breath.

"Oh, yeah?" I tried to sound calm. I'm breezy, right?

"Yeah. I want to spend it with you, Mom, of course, I do, but I don't want to leave Jake…"

"I told you, Sweetheart, he's welcome here."

"I know," Vanessa interrupted, "but Jake's dad has invited us to his house."

"Us?" I wondered briefly, not entirely sure who 'us' was.

"Yeah."

"As in you and Jake?"

"Us, as in _you_ and me. And Jake, obviously."

"That's really nice, Nessie, but I can't impose like that…" I interrupted.

"Mom, it's fine, he offered. You and Jake's dad are both so important to us, and you haven't met yet. We've been trying to arrange it for a while, so we thought this would be a good time."

She had a point. I'd met Jake plenty of times, but none of his family. Nessie always talked about how _cool _Jake's dad was, so it would be nice to meet him, especially since the kids were officially engaged.

"Please, Mom." I realized I'd been quiet while I was thinking things over.

"Jake's dad always has to work New Year's Eve at Masen's. It's the first time he's been off in five years. He wants to spend it with Jake, Jake wants me there, I want you there..." She trailed off.

I had to admit Nessie's logic was starting to win me over.

"Mom, he has enough rooms so we can all stay there, that way we can see in the new year properly."

"Stay at his house?" I hoped I didn't sound as horrified as I felt.

"Yeah, we'll all be up past midnight, and you might want a drink…"

I scoffed. If I was going to meet my daughter's future father-in-law for the first time, I'd definitely need a drink.

"Jeez, you have it all worked out." I heard the fridge beep at me for leaving the door open too long, but I didn't move.

"So, it would be us, Jake and his dad?" I asked.

"Yeah." She'd really perfected that pleading tone.

"What about his mom?" I asked something I'd been wondering about for a while.

"Umm, no. She's not really in his life; it's kind of a sore subject. It's just been Jake and his dad since Jake was two."

"Wow. Um, okay. That's rough." I sighed.

I was all out of excuses. The truth was I'd do anything to spend time with Nessie. If this is what it took to make her happy and see in the new year together, then there was only one answer I could give.

"Tell them I'm bringing cake."

**A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, PearlyFox, Christy Wicklund,**** RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs, Julie Gotcha Dodge, Star Fitchpatrick, Stephanie Vallejo, for giving up their time to beta, pre-read and make banners for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time.**

**Thanks also to anyone who has read this. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for your support and lovely reviews so far. I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

So, that's how I found myself driving Nessie and me to the back end of beyond on New Year's Eve. It was late afternoon, but the sky was already dark, and the weather was predictably cold. The car's heater groaned loudly as it was on full blast in an attempt to keep the windscreen clear and stop my nose from going numb.

Jake had gone ahead to the house, explaining that since his dad was working the lunch shift at their restaurant, it was up to him to make the bachelor pad ready for visitors.

_God help us!_

I picked up Nessie earlier. She was now bouncing energetically next to me, reminding me of the lively, excited kid she always was while growing up.

I wasn't quite so excited. In fact, I was feeling rather frustrated, since the GPS I was relying on to get us to our destination gave up long ago, declaring that we were driving on an unnamed road and barking orders at us to 'make a U-turn if possible.'

"Can you make that thing shut up, Ness?" I grumbled as I slowed the car down for yet _another_ bend in the narrow, hilly road. The gravel and poor state of it made it more like a footpath than a road, anyway. Who would think this is a good place to live? It's so far from civilization. I need to stay focused on the winding road, hoping I wouldn't encounter any wildlife as I tried not to worry that I'd accidentally driven into Canada, or beyond.

I snorted internally, my nerves getting the best of me. The fact that I was about to meet someone new, someone so important to my daughter, was driving me insane. I needed to make a killer impression and didn't want to make a fool out of myself, or Vanessa.

Jake and his family were going to be in my life forever. Assuming Vanessa and Jake had children, I'd be a co-grandparent with the guy I was about to meet. We'd be at every milestone for our kids and grandkids, so I really hoped we liked each other and that I made a good impression today.

Nessie shifted the weight of the enormous cake she was balancing precariously on her lap, freeing up her hand to push some buttons on the stupid GPS until the foul thing was finally silent. I sighed loudly, relieved. She clutched her phone tightly in her other hand, through which Jake was reassuring us that we were heading in the right direction.

"Keep going, Mom. Jake says it's not far from here. We just took one wrong turn, so we made a little detour." My daughter was upbeat, and I could tell she was trying to improve my mood.

"Not far!" I sputtered, flustered as I tried to turn down the heating dial, not an easy task in my big mittens. I was melting with this fuzzy bobble hat on my head, the scorching, dry air threatening to ruin the carefully applied makeup I needed to stay on my face and not melt off to reveal the forty-five-year-old I'd somehow become. Time really does fly, especially when raising a child.

"Jake's outside the house; he says he can hear our car…it must be 'round this bend," Vanessa remarked, looking up from the screen of her phone.

Slowly, but surely, the demon road on which I was trying to force my car down, finally fanned out into a driveway. My eyes widened at the glorious sight of the property in front of me.

I gasped. It really did take my breath away. The house was two stories high, surrounded by evergreen trees and built from strong, dark wood. It looked like the set of a Hallmark Christmas film.

Nessie, however, seemed oblivious to the view in front of her, since she only had eyes for Jake. My future son-in-law was bounding towards us like his ass was on fire. Nessie was out of the car as soon as I'd slowed to a stop, flinging the cake on the passenger seat behind her in her haste to exit the vehicle. I silently prayed we wouldn't have to scrape it from the cardboard when it was time for dessert.

Sighing, I realized this would take some getting used to. Nessie was my baby, the little girl who dribbled popsicles down her chin and couldn't pronounce zebra properly. I could still see her like that so clearly. That was the past, of course, but nothing seemed to have prepared me for the twenty-one-year-old she had morphed into. A woman in love with a guy who looked like a man. A man who looked her over in a way that made me want to avert my eyes. She was a grown-up now, after all.

"Sure, Mommy will get the cake, won't she, darling?" I grumbled to myself as I pulled my keys out of the ignition, pleased to have arrived safely. Before I stepped out of the car, I checked my reflection in the wing mirror and took in a deep breath to compose myself.

In between desperate hugs and kisses, Nessie and Jake were chatting away. Jake was gesticulating wildly to the house while Nessie gazed at him like he'd single-handedly built the place. She was absolutely smitten with the guy.

I rounded the car and leaned inside to grab the cake, not only because it needed to get out of this warm car asap, but because I felt more comfortable arriving with a gift. I may not be bringing much, but this cake was the only contribution Jake had agreed to, so I was going to deliver it in one piece. Plus, holding it gave me something else to do besides twiddle my thumbs and fidget nervously like a madwoman.

I approached the house, but before I could even step foot on the porch, the large wooden front door swung open, and a guy who I assumed was Jake's dad stepped out.

I gulped. Audibly.

He was tall and well-built, with a strong jawline and broad shoulders. His shirt had just one button undone at the top, enough to make him look casual, and friendly but still put together enough to meet the mother of his son's fiancée.

He stood before me, leaning against the front door, like the king of the castle. He had his hands in the pockets of his jeans, flashing perfect, pearly white teeth in a warm smile when he spotted me approaching.

He pulled his hands from his pockets and stepped towards me in three, strong, confident strides.

"Hi," I greeted as he drew nearer, the smile on my lips effortless.

"Hi. Isabella, isn't it?" His voice was deep and rich without sounding like the movie trailer voice-over guy.

"Bella," I corrected.

"Bella." He nodded, somehow caressing my name with his mouth.

_If only he could caress other parts of me with his mouth. Those lips…damn! _I internally scolded myself. I should not be thinking that way about my daughter's future father-in-law. We were going to be related soon.

"I'm Edward."

_Oh crap, he was talking! What had he said? Hopefully, just his name because I'd daydreamed through everything else. _I shook my head._ Bella, cut it out. You're a grown-up, remember._

With my hands occupied by the cake, it was hard to greet Edward properly. I was anxious, nervous that I wasn't making the friendliest of impressions on Nessie's newly acquired family. However, instead of a handshake, Edward went in for a hug, but since he was so much taller than I was, I ended up in his armpit. Still, it wasn't all bad. He smelled amazing, like firewood and man.

Adult man.

I tried not to sniff him too loudly as he pulled away from our embrace, taking the heavy cake from me without a word.

I turned to my daughter. I was a little pissed she didn't mention earlier that Jake's dad is damn hot! Didn't she think I'd want to know that information? Then again, I might have been even more nervous if I'd have known.

I knew Nessie and Edward had met previously, but I felt she should be polite and come and say hello. The trouble was, Nessie's mouth was attached to Jake's again, and I silently rolled my eyes at the pair of them.

"Jacob! Tone down the PDA, yeah?" Edward shot his son an evil eye that looked well-rehearsed.

_Jacob_. I didn't even know Jake was a nickname. I was learning a lot about _Jacob_ today. Like how good-looking his father is. If Jacob ages anything like his father, I'd envy Vanessa, for sure.

I dismissed those thoughts as Edward spoke again, his rich voice filled with humor.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I swear I taught him some manners, but lately, they seem to be buried under extra hormones." Edward remarked, facing me again while our kids couldn't care less about the fact that both their parents were present.

I gave him an understanding look; unfortunately I knew exactly what he meant. "Nessie, too. Her father was English. She has manners like the Queen; she just doesn't always use them."

"Was?" Edward asked, his face immediately losing its humor.

"Um, yeah. It was a long time ago." I shrugged, unprepared to tell that tale to a stranger on his doorstep.

He gave me a sympathetic smile, before beckoning Jacob over, now that he finally captured a fragment of his attention. After I greeted Jake, and Edward and Nessie exchanged polite hugs, Edward handed Jake the cake he'd taken from me and headed to my car, his steps crunching the loose gravel beneath his feet.

_Look at that ass… A masterpiece. _

He opened the trunk of my car and heaved one bag on his shoulder, a smaller bag under his arm, and managed to pull Nessie's case on its wheels back past me as I stood on the path, watching dumbfoundedly.

_It seems Jake isn't the only one who lifts weights. Like father, like son. _

"Is this everything?" Edward paused next to me. His strained biceps were visible against the cotton of his shirt sleeves, which did weird things to my stomach and made me feel a little giddy.

"Ummm, yeah. Thanks. I'll just get my handbag and lock up."

He nodded to me and continued toward the house as I rushed to my car, grabbed my handbag from the passenger footwell, and locked the car in record time. If I hurried, I could follow his ass up the pathway and get another sneaky glance.

Despite the bags he was carrying, Edward turned to check if I was behind him. I had to avert my eyes pretty quickly, suspecting my glance wasn't so sneaky. But I wasn't wearing my glasses, so really, I couldn't see too much from this distance anyway.

Inside, the house was surprisingly homey. The downstairs had an open floor plan and the kitchen, where Jake had placed the cake on the worktop, looked modern and clean.

Edward's long fingers hovered over the lid of the cake box, making me spot the emptiness of his ring finger on his left hand. I shouldn't have noticed. It didn't mean anything, Jacob didn't have a ring yet either, and he was madly in love and about to be married. Still, my whole body warmed a little at that observation. Or maybe it was just because I was out of the cold and inside this warm kitchen. Yeah … that was probably it.

"Can I check out the cake?" Edward asked with a grin. I was beginning to suspect he liked eating cake almost as much as I did.

"Sure," I nodded. It seemed only fair, given how much I'd checked him out already since we arrived.

"It's a bit girly," I explained, relieved that the cake was still in one piece as Edward uncovered the hot pink icing, pastel-colored macaroons placed in a circle around the top and the mass of multi-colored sprinkles that adorned the sides of the cake. "I was expecting it to be just Ness and me…" I began to explain.

"That's not a problem. However, you won't find many girly things around here, it's been our bachelor pad for far too long. But seriously, you two were gonna eat this whole thing yourselves?" Edward's amused grin was infectious, making me feel relaxed already.

I shrugged. "It's never been a problem before."

Edward laughed at my words and nodded. "It does look tasty."

_Hmmm, that cake wasn't the only thing I could see that looked tasty. _I clamped my lips closed, so I didn't accidentally say anything like that out loud.

We stood in a slightly awkward silence as I digested the news that no woman had lived here for years. I still didn't know the details of Jake's mom and I didn't feel like now was the time to ask.

"Well, how about we take your bags straight upstairs. Follow me," Edward spoke, his feet already turning towards the stairs. My mind conjured up jokes about how it was too soon to be heading upstairs to a bedroom with him, but I thankfully kept my mouth shut, and after slipping my feet out of my heeled boots, I followed him.

Jake and Nessie already disappeared, so I followed Edward down a corridor to a small room where he deposited the bags on the bed.

"I hope this is okay. I'm next door, and the kids are across the hall." He gestured to the other rooms we'd passed as he rubbed the back of his neck with his palm. "It's just a basic guest room I'm afraid."

"Are you kidding? This is amazing," I assured him. "I'm pretty sure Nessie would have chosen to come here instead of being home with me, so I really appreciate you enabling me to spend time with her." I smiled.

"It's no problem at all. Nessie's a great girl, and us single parents have to stick together, right?" He winked.

_Like, actually winked. _

I should have been immune to such a simple gesture, but it made my stomach flutter. Something about the wink suddenly made him look twenty years younger, giving me a flash of his youth and how he might have looked years ago.

But, more than that, that one wink made me feel like we were a team, as if we were in this together, navigating the shark-infested waters of raising older kids.

Not teenage old. Adult old.

Nessie was twenty-one. She was independent, old enough to marry, and have kids of her own. As much as the two of us were a team and a big part of each other's lives, I knew I was being replaced. Replaced by a fiancée. It was the way it was supposed to be, but it didn't make it any easier to deal with.

I grinned at Edward. "Right."

I sensed maybe I'd taken too long to reply after the wink, but I was tired from the stressful drive, and my brain was in overload from taking in all these new surroundings. Not to mention this house and this man, who was making me have inappropriate thoughts.

"Well," he rubbed his hands together, which only highlighted them, and his strained biceps, almost making me drool. "I'll let you unpack while I go make us all a hot drink." He nodded, more to himself than me before he left the room, and I turned away, trying not to look at his ass…again.

Jacob's dad wasn't the person I'd expected him to be. I hadn't given much thought to what he'd be like, but I definitely hadn't expected someone so caring, kind-hearted and funny. Oh, and so damn good looking. Over the time Ness and Jake had been dating, I got to know Jake reasonably well. He seemed very kind and funny, and I could see what Nessie saw in him, in a non-pervy-I-will-be-your-mother-in-law-one-day kinda way.

But his dad, he was…he was…attractive, to say the least.

I scoffed as l unzipped my bag, shaking my head and scolding myself for those inappropriate thoughts. _Jeez_, I was so out of practice with men. I didn't even know if he was single, but I did know it would be a bad, _really_, really bad idea to be interested in my daughter's future father-in-law.

That was just...wrong.

_Right_?

How many eligible men were there in America? It would be really inconvenient for me to fall for this one.

**A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, PearlyFox, Christy ****Wicklund**** RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs, Julie Gotcha Dodge, Star Fitchpatrick, Stephanie Vallejo, for giving up their time to beta, pre-read and make banners for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thanks also to anyone who has read this. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews. Please check me out of Facebook (Koala Lou) for chapter banners (made by the lovely PearlyFox) and chapter teasers.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you for your support and lovely reviews so far. I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

I didn't unpack just yet, but I did take a few minutes to convince myself the feelings in my stomach were hunger, not butterflies. After all, I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I pulled off my bobble hat and fluffed out my long, slightly curled hair before I took a deep breath. When I walked downstairs into the kitchen, I found Edward by the stove, pouring milk into a saucepan. I watched him turn his back to the countertops, leaning against the dark oak.

_Oh shit!_

His dark denim jeans made his legs look long and lean, and I had every reason to believe they were muscular and strong like the rest of him. His stance was confident as he crossed his arms over his chest and spread his legs ever so slightly.

"I think the cake made it to the fridge before the kids disappeared," Edward joked as my eyes widened and I looked upstairs towards the bedrooms.

_Dear God, please don't tell me that's where they disappeared to_.

"Outside!" Edward clarified with a grin that made me embarrassed about where my mind had gone.

"Oh, yeah. Of course. Good."

In an effort not to make a fool of myself by getting caught staring at Edward, I walked over to the floor to ceiling, sliding glass doors that lead out to the deck. I took in a deep breath as I admired the amazing view. Steep hills and tall evergreen trees surrounded the house, and looking out, it was easy to feel like we were the only two people in the world.

"I'll give you a tour later if you like?" Edward's rich, deep voice sounded closer now, but I didn't turn around.

"Absolutely." I nodded.

I didn't know why he had this effect on me. I hadn't been in a relationship for a long time, but I could contain myself around other males, very well in fact. I didn't even know Edward; there was still plenty of time for him to be an ass, and then it wouldn't matter how good his ass was. If he was a jerk, I'd get over these butterflies pretty quickly, and normal service would resume in my stomach.

"So, did you have a good drive here?" He asked, making me turn away from the window and smile sheepishly at him.

He grinned back. I'm pretty sure he'd seen the strain on my face when we'd finally arrived at this back-of-beyond destination.

"It is a bit hard to find, I'd forgive a few swear words along the way," he continued.

I chuckled. _Since when did I make that noise?_ "There may have been a little cursing! I was trying to be all calm and serene in front of Nessie, but the last few miles…"

"I know, the road disappears, and you feel like you're driving into the middle of nowhere."

"Exactly." I agreed. "But it was worth it; this view is breathtaking." Looking out beyond the glass windows again, Edward left the milk heating on the stove and joined me. He pointed out the mountain range to the east, the lake to the west, and the start of the hiking trail straight in front of us.

I glanced sideways at his hands before obediently turning back to the windows. Both views really were amazing.

"Jake hasn't taken Nessie far, just to check out his childhood tree house, I think. They'll be back soon, wanting hot chocolate." Edward turned back to the stove and was loading mugs with chocolate powder and opening a packet of marshmallows.

"Oh, yeah, I see them in the distance," I exclaimed, quite glad they'd be back to fill our gaps in conversation.

"You have such a nice house; I can see why it's worth the drive." I turned away from the view to look at the arguably better view of Edward running a hand through his hair as he approached the window, presumably because I'd said I'd seen the kids.

He chuckled. "Yeah, running the family restaurant is so hectic. I need the peace and solitude I have here." I nodded. "I guess I'm mellowing in my old age," he added self-deprecatingly.

"I get that." I agreed. Dealing with demanding people all day would be enough to make anyone crave a rest.

"We do have a one-bed apartment above the restaurant for whichever sucker gets the killer shifts where you finish late and start early. I don't know why I let my sister-in-law run the rotation; she clearly favors her husband. He never has to stay there, but I almost live in that place. Still, it makes being here all the sweeter when I have time off, like tonight."

I was reminded of the fact that this was Edward's first New Years' Eve off in five years. I was now doubly appreciative he'd invited me, a total stranger into his home, enabling me to welcome in the new year with my daughter, who I could now see approaching the deck.

"Mom, you should go see that treehouse!" Nessie barreled through the door, shaking the cold from her coat as she pulled off her boots. I loved seeing her so childlike, she looked like her ten-year-old self, cheeks red from the cold, blowing on her hands as Jake followed close behind, beaming his characteristic grin.

"I'm glad someone likes it, Nessie," Edward said good-humoredly, shooting Jake a death stare as he placed two steaming mugs on the table. Jake shut the door, blocking out the cold and warming the room back up instantly.

"Dad, you know I love it…"

"Jacob, I spend two months of spare weekends building that thing, and you played in it once! Once!" Edward turned to me and held up a finger in my direction. "Once!"

I nodded at his mock pain, still fresh after all these years. "I hear you. Nessie wouldn't go near her playhouse because of the spiders. It didn't matter how often I cleaned it; she was adamant a family of spiders had moved in and claimed it as their own. I mean, they may as well have; it would have been good for the place to get some use."

Edward added two more mugs to the table and nodded at me to join them. We sat the four of us, and I briefly wondered if this was what it was like for other families … your average husband, wife, and 2.4 kids. It was something Vanessa and I never had. I shook that thought from my mind and focused on my drink. The chocolaty smell was enticing, but I was still working out how to drink it without getting a milk mustache when Edward spoke again.

"I'm cooking chicken fajitas if that's okay with you? Vanessa thought you would like that."

_Jeez, this guy could cook? Another tick from me! _"That sounds fantastic. Any meal I don't have to cook is good in my book," I told him, liking the smile I received back.

"Right? Adulting is tough kids, don't be in a rush to grow up!" He tapped the table to emphasize his words as he stood.

Pulling various ingredients from the fridge, he set about turning on the stove and finding a chopping board. I offered to help, but he insisted I sit while he cooked.

"Are you're sure? You work with food all day; don't you want a break?"

"I'm fine. My brother, Emmett, is the chef at work. I'm more the manager of operations, although I have been known to fill in when needed. I tend to save the cooking for home."

"Who taught you both to cook so well?"

"Our mom." He answered, looking over his shoulder at me before he turned back to stir the sweet-smelling onions in the frying pan.

"Grandma Esme is the best cook," Jake added enthusiastically.

"Don't let Uncle Emmett hear you say that, Jacob!" Edward joked.

"I'm not scared of him," Jake said rather unconvincingly.

"I am!" Nessie chimed in playfully. "Mom, he's taller than Edward and built like a tree trunk. A lovely tree trunk, but still, scary." She joked as I smiled at her and the family we were gaining through this marriage.

"I'd love to meet him. Hopefully, I'll get to meet more of your family before the wedding."

"Sure." Edward nodded enthusiastically as he chopped a red pepper with vigor. "You should come by the restaurant, maybe next week?"

I agreed as we continued our small talk. The room was filling up with the amazing aroma of cooked onions, browned chicken, and spices. I watched Edward at the stove, stirring a frying pan and twirling wraps, tasting salsas and plating up guacamole. Damn, this was not helping my inappropriate attraction to him.

Before long, Jake had set the table, Nessie had made us all drinks and we had taken our seats together, wrapping up meat and filling our stomachs.

I moaned as I first tasted the seasoned chicken. "My God, this is amazing!"

Edward looked at me, licked a little salsa off his forefinger and smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

Edward held my gaze before he looked away and cleared his throat. "So, kids, did you know the most popular time of year for babies to be born is in September? Nine months from now."

"Ewww, Dad!" Jacob looked at his father like he was crazy.

Edward shrugged unapologetically. "Just saying."

Nessie turned to me, wide-eyed. "But Mom, your birthday's in September."

I raise my wrap to my lips before looking at her with raised eyebrows and a shrug of my own. "Take that up with your grandparents."

She screwed up her nose. "No, thanks."

Edward chuckled, and I looked up at him, smiling at the sound.

"Seriously, though, while this may not be a conversation for the dinner table, I don't want you two rushing into anything." Edward's tone of voice was more serious now, and I didn't know which I liked best, serious, manly Edward, or teasing, funny Edward.

"Dad, chill. We're not planning to make you a grandparent any time soon."

"Good, because I'm far too young and cool for that," he announced, humor evident in his words.

"Cool? Dad, cool went out in the nineties before I was born. It's so not cool to say _cool_." Jake teased his dad who laughed his rich, heartwarming laugh.

"Well, what is it you kids say these days? Sick? Jelly? Woke?"

"Dad, please! Just stop! You sound like a teenager!" Jake was rolling his eyes just as Edward's gaze caught mine, and he grinned. I could tell he was in his element, teasing his son and joking with him.

"Sure, sweet, lit AF!" Edward concluded as Jake dropped his head in his hands and groaned.

It looked like that was another thing Edward and I had in common; teasing and embarrassing our kids was fun!

**A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, PearlyFox, Christy ****Wicklund****, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs, Julie Gotcha Dodge, Star Fitchpatrick, Stephanie Vallejo, for giving up their time to beta, pre-read and make banners for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time.**

**Thanks also to anyone who has read this. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you for your support and lovely reviews so far. I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

After dinner was cleared and the kitchen was clean, Edward and I got comfortable in the living room. My eyes were drawn to all the family pictures hanging from the walls. Each one featured Jake at various stages of his life, from a chubby-cheeked baby, a wobbly toddler and a grinning kid, to a football playing teenager. Some included Edward, his hair graying slightly as Jake grew, but his features as striking as ever with his angled jaw, bright eyes and strong physique.

None of the pictures included a woman. I didn't know much about Jacob's mom but from what Nessie had told me she hadn't been around much for his childhood and was a flighty mom at the best of times. It was hard to imagine anyone walking away from Edward or Jake and the life they had here. But I didn't want to judge since I didn't know their history.

Edward must have seen me studying the photos because he looked over at them himself. "That one's my favorite." He pointed to one showing him with pre-school aged Jacob at a baseball game. They had on all the team's attire and Jacob was sitting on Edward's broad shoulders, both of them grinning wildly at the camera.

"He was a cute kid."

Edward nodded. "It goes by so fast. Too fast," he mused.

"Absolutely."

"Not that I don't like where he is now; his relationship with Vanessa is great and he's grown up to be someone I'm so fiercely proud of, but…where'd that kid go?"

Edward's voice sounded almost pained as he spoke. I wondered if he, too, had wanted more children, but life had other plans. I gently held his upper arm, offering support from one parent to another.

My sudden touch seemed to snap him out of his reverie and he shook his head as he looked down at me. "Anyway, we have a few hours until midnight to fill, do you have any family traditions we can incorporate into this evening?"

"Ummm…cards. We're pretty fierce with any game that involves a deck of cards." I informed him, removing my hand from his arm, sensing our heartfelt moment had passed.

"Hmmm, I'm up for that." Edward nodded, suppressing a slow grin as Nessie and Jake entered the room.

"Mom's a bit of a card shark," Nessie announced, catching the end of our conversation and bigging me up.

"Is that so?" Edward cocked an eyebrow at me as a confident grin spread slowly across his handsome face. "I'm not so bad myself. Bring it on." He gestured that we should move to the dining table where he leaned back in his chair, looking confident without being arrogant.

I looked away from him, and down at his hands instead. He was now shuffling a deck Jacob had fetched from a nearby bookshelf. The cards looked well used and worn at the edges, but I was focused on Edward's hands. They looked so strong and masculine, shuffling the cards confidently before he started dealing them.

Edward then slipped on a pair of black-framed glasses. _Oh, Christ!_ Was he trying to disarm me? If so, it was working.

"We usually start with a round of Sevens to check that all the cards are still here," Edward announced as I nodded, familiar with that game and pleased we were playing one that involves strategy, not just luck.

In the end, though, it appeared both mine and Edward's confidence was misplaced. Nessie won the first game and took great delight in beating us all.

Jacob leaped up from the table and headed back to the bookcase he had got the cards from. "Dad, where's the crown?"

Edward laughed. "That thing disappeared years ago."

Jacob turned to his dad, looking genuinely sad and surprised.

"But…" Edward continued, having read Jacob's reaction, "…we can fashion a new crown for our new guests." He rose from his chair and headed to a drawer in the kitchen. Before long, he was back at the table, crafting aluminum foil into a silver crown which he gently perched on Nessie's head, gaining laughs from her and a manly nod from his son.

"Don't get too comfy in it, Nessie; I'm gonna win it back!" He teased as I saw another flash of 'Dad' Edward.

I could picture him picking up Jacob's broken Lego set and clicking the bricks back in place to calm his upset son. I could imagine him lifting Jacob from a patch of mud, scooping up the boy's bike, and cleaning his grazed knee. The unexpected images made me nostalgic. However old our kids were, they were still our kids and we'd do anything to help them.

That warm-up game had become surprisingly competitive, so we were all geared up for the next one, eager to win that crown off Nessie's head.

But before anyone could deal the next hand, Jacob fake cleared his throat, looking up at Edward, who stared at his son in innocence, his lips twitching slightly.

"Come on, Dad, you know the rules."

Edward scoffed. "Jacob, that's ridiculous." The humor was evident in his voice, but Jacob merely returned his smile and gestured to his wrists.

Edward held his son's gaze, then sighed.

To my absolute delight, Edward then unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and began to roll up his sleeves. What was it about guys who rolled their sleeves up to their elbows to reveal their forearms? Wasn't I too old to be looking at a guy like this? Edward had revealed a silver watch, glistening on his left wrist as he glanced at his phone, which had lit up with a notification.

"He may have been known to sneak some cards up there," Jacob was explaining to a confused looking Nessie. I, meanwhile, couldn't drag my eyes away from Edward, who chuckled good-naturedly at his son.

"Me?"

Edward's fake innocence was cute. As cute as a guy in his late forties can be. Which, let me tell you, is surprisingly cute.

"Yes. Roll them up." Jacob was adamant, and I wasn't about to protest.

"Son, that was one time when you were about twelve, and I only did it to make you laugh. Are you going to hold that against me for the rest of my life?"

"Yes! I'm not taking any chances." Jacob was taking a little too much pleasure in riling up his dad.

Edward's phone lit up again for the third time in as many minutes, so he finally gave it his attention.

"Ready, Dad?" Jacob was surprisingly against checking his cell every few minutes. Earlier, I'd seen him place his in the kitchen and leave it there.

"Yeah, sorry." Edward put the phone down, only for it to sound again a few seconds later.

Jacob took the deck of cards from his dad and playfully swiped his phone at the same time. He then placed it in his own pocket before he started to deal.

"Hey! What if work needs me?" Edward grumbled.

"You're on leave. I'm sure they can cope for the short amount of time it will take you to lose this game." Jacob teased, flashing his million-watt smile. I could see why Nessie liked that smile so much; it was identical to his father's.

"Unless…" Jacob finished dealing four piles of cards and placed the remainder in the center of the table, "…there's some woman who might call?"

"Jacob? Christ!" Edward hissed. He seemed genuinely surprised by Jacob's words. He shook his head and ran his hands through his hair.

I couldn't deny that my ears perked up, waiting eagerly for more information. Any woman who was with Edward would be pretty lucky in my eyes.

Edward's jaw clenched, but he didn't say anything further. He picked up his cards and fanned them out in his hands.

"I'll take that as a no, then?" Jacob grumbled under his breath, making Edward scoff and shake his head again. "Why is the idea of having a girlfriend so absurd to you? You haven't dated in years…"

"Jacob! Just mind your own business, yeah?" Edward's voice was sterner now as he and his son stared at each other across the small table.

"So, you can know all about my love life, but won't tell me about yours?"

Nessie and I picked up our cards, pretending we were interested in them, not the conversation that was going on around the table.

"I'm not hiding anything. There's nothing to tell." Edward's cheeks were turning an adorable shade of red as he finally looked away from Jacob and back to his cards.

"Nothing?" Jacob sounded surprised. He wasn't dropping this conversation and clearly liked to push his luck.

"Nothing." Edward's voice was strong as he made eye contact with his son across the table.

"I know you and Mom were…but you need to move on. She has."

"Yes, thank you, Jacob. I know that." Edward's no-nonsense tone couldn't be missed.

"Okaaaaay. I'm never going to win that argument, so I'll stick to beating you at cards instead."

"You wish." Edward plucked a card out of his hand and laid it down triumphantly, both starting the game and ending the conversation at the same time.

The mood around the table lightened quickly as Jacob won the next game.

Kids two, parents zero.

Before the third game, Nessie and Jake left the table to get drinks and snacks and Edward turned to me conspiratorially.

His grin was mischievous, giving me another flash of his younger self. I was beginning to think he'd been a troublemaker in his youth.

Edward leaned in close. Fuck, he looked good. His jawline had a slight shadow of stubble and his voice was a low whisper when he spoke. I notice how he smelled so good up close, a mix of sandalwood aftershave and man, all man.

"Surely these kids can't be smarter than us? We wiped their butts when they were in diapers before they could even walk or talk. Heck, we taught them everything they know!" He whisper yelled.

My ovaries may have exploded a little at the image of Daddy Edward. With a little baby.

I groaned and then tried to cover it with a nod and noise of agreement.

"Mmmm-hmmm."

Edward looked a little confused but carried on. "How about we team up, there's still a chance we can beat them."

"Sure." I agreed. If he wanted to team up with me, I wasn't going to object. "You're taking this very seriously," I told him as he ran his fingers over his chin.

"Jacob and I do get a bit competitive," he admitted, looking a little sheepish.

"It wasn't a criticism," I told Edward as the kids returned, each with their hands full, Jake making Nessie laugh and her playfully scolding him.

"Hi." Edward and I both spoke at the same time.

"What's going on? You both look guilty." Jacob looked from his dad to me and back again.

"We errr…we have a plan to beat you both, that's all," I spoke up without much conviction.

"Yeah," Edward spoke up, backing up my words as he sat straighter in his seat and looked more serious. "We're playing in teams; parents versus kids, you think you two can handle it?"

Jake scoffed and grinned. "Bring it on, old man…" his grin dropped, and he turned to me. "Err, and young Ms. Swan." He added the last part with a nod of his head to me and I smiled at him.

It turned out that although we did indeed teach our kids plenty of things, they were still better than Edward and me at cards.

We played until it was close to midnight and it was the most enjoyable evening I'd had in months.

With only a few minutes until the ball drop, we filled our glasses and Edward put on the TV.

Watching the countdown always made me nostalgic, and truth be told, I wasn't a big fan of New Year's Eve. It always reminded me how much time had passed and made me worry about the future. However, this year I was determined to be positive. I had Nessie's wedding to focus on and I now had Jacob's family to get to know, starting with Edward.

The kids were holding hands and eagerly counting down.

10…9…8…

Edward looked at me before looking away.

3…2…1.

Fireworks and cheers exploded on the TV, and Jake and Nessie turned to each other for a kiss. Edward and I turned to each other, and he raised his glass at me. "Happy New Year, Bella."

I tapped his glass with my own. "Happy New Year, Edward."

We looked each other in the eye, but our gaze was broken when Nessie hugged me, and Jake turned to Edward.

The four of us watched the fireworks for a while before the kids went to bed and Edward and I tidied up from the vast number of snacks Jacob had consumed. Who knew a twenty-two-year-old boy could eat so much?

**A/N: There will be drama, some angst and quite a bit of tension further into this story. These earlier chapters are setting the scene and I don't want to add drama for the sake of it. This is a warm-hearted fic with family at the core so I only write angst/drama when it's needed. I hope you'll hang around for it and still be reading then.**

**Thanks as always to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, PearlyFox, Christy ****Wicklund****, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs, Julie Gotcha Dodge, Star Fitchpatrick, Stephanie Vallejo, for giving up their time to beta, pre-read and make banners for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thanks also to anyone who has read this. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you for your support and lovely reviews so far. I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Edward moved around his house, checking the doors and wiping down the table as I loaded our dirty wine glasses into the dishwasher. He then walked to the large sliding doors that led to the deck, opened them, and strode outside. As he did, a blast of fresh air invaded the house.

"Bella, come and look at this."

I followed him outside, hugging my arms around my waist in a lame attempt at protection against the cold air.

Edward was looking upwards at a big, bright full moon, which was dominating the sky and lighting up his face, highlighting his jaw and Adam's apple as his neck was stretched upwards.

"Wow!" The hundreds of stars surrounding the moon were bright and such a sharp white it almost hurt to look directly at them.

"This view is amazing. You must sit out here all the time." I spoke up to the sky, but I felt Edward turn to look at me.

"Not as much as I should." He sounded wistful as I snuck another look at him. He was looking skyward again, still mesmerized by the view.

I wondered what he was thinking, but I didn't feel l knew him well enough to ask.

Instead, I took in this moment, the start of a new year, the excitement of what was to come, and the rush of emotions I was feeling tonight. "I love the thought that everyone on earth sees the same moon. How many other people are looking up at it right now, people from all over the world."

"Yeah, it's mind-blowing if you think about it too hard." He paused and I could tell he was weighing his words before he spoke again. "People from across the world." That must have reminded him of something I had said earlier today because he turned to me looking concerned. "Bella… you said Nessie's dad was English…"

I sighed a little too deeply, which made Edward hastily retract his words.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." He held his hands up, looking apologetic.

"It's fine." I shook my head and smiled gently at Edward. "Her dad, Sam, and I, we weren't together long. He returned to England before she was born, so Nessie has never really known him. Now it's too late." I hesitated, unsure how much to say as I swallowed around the lump in my throat. "It's the biggest regret of my life, not having a father for my child, that, and not having more children, but… it didn't happen, so… "I shrugged as Edward stood a little closer to me. In the light of the moon, I could see him nod a little as if agreeing with my words.

"I know the feeling."

"Jake's mom…?"

Edward ran his hands over his jaw before holding the back of his neck and tilting his head side to side. He lowered his head and took a deep breath.

"We were young. Kate…she wasn't ready. Jake lived with me while she went off to chase her dreams. Except she never came back."

"Wow," I whispered, feeling for both Edward and Jake but unsure why I felt that way. They were clearly both thriving and happy without Kate, but I guess I didn't know him well enough to understand what was under the initial impression he was showing me.

"Do you have any contact with her now?"

Edward shook his head. "I could never forgive her for abandoning her own son. We're cordial, but any contact is only for Jake's sake."

"So, will she attend the wedding?"

"That's Jake's call, but I imagine so. She'll probably attend with her wife."

'Oh!" I looked over at Edward, checking I'd heard him right.

He nodded. "Yep. She changed quite a bit while she was chasing her dreams." He didn't sound bitter, just resigned as I tried to digest his words. "But, I'm glad she's happy, and hopefully, she will make an effort for Jake's wedding."

I wanted to ask him a hundred questions about that bombshell but now didn't seem like the right time. "Surely there's no reason big enough to keep her away from her own son's wedding?"

Edward shrugged. "I guess we'll find out."

I shivered in the cold air and tried, rather unsuccessfully, to stifle a yawn. "I'm sorry, it's been a long day."

Edward chuckled at me and turned back to the house. It seemed our chat was over and we knew what we needed to know, for now at least.

"Come on." He nodded to the sliding doors, and we both walked inside.

"So, have you made any New Year's resolutions this evening?" I asked Edward as his fingers hovered over the kitchen light switch, waiting for me to leave the room before he turned it off.

He shrugged. "Not really. Perhaps I should aim for a better work-life balance, but I can't complain. You?"

Once I had passed him and entered the hallway, Edward flicked off the light, plunging us into darkness. I didn't know the house well enough to know where I was going, so, given my propensity to clumsiness, I froze on the spot.

"Sorry." Edward fumbled around in the dark for my hands, found my arm instead, and held tight. His strong grip was reassuring, and his hand was warm as he walked us towards the hallway light, which he turned on before letting go of my arm.

Great! Now I'd totally forgotten what on earth we were talking about. Ah! New Year's resolutions. Right now, the only one I could come up with was not to fuck my daughter's, soon-to-be father-in-law, but I couldn't tell him that.

"So for me, I guess this year will be all about the kid's wedding, right? I know Nessie's hoping to book something for this summer so I will resolve to make sure they have the best wedding they can."

"Damn, that's a way better resolution than mine. Now I sound like a dick." Edward set off up the stairs, and I followed behind, trying not to imagine his dick, but he was the one who brought it up, so…

I cleared my mind of those thoughts. "Of course, you're not a dick." I tried not to stumble over that word but really, how and why were we talking about dicks? And Edward's dick specifically.

"They'll be lucky to book something for this year, places fill up way in advance," Edward worried as we reached the top of the stairs and paused outside my room.

I scoffed. "Tell Nessie that. She's a bit of a hustler. I have no doubt she'll be able to get her own way."

Edward grinned, looking me in the eyes but remaining silent before he started to nod slowly. "I don't doubt it." He shot me another wide grin before squeezing my shoulder and turning away, towards his room. "Goodnight, Bella." He threw the words casually over his shoulder as if he'd said them a hundred times. I watched him disappear before I managed to find my voice.

"Goodnight, Edward."

I walked into the room I was staying in and flopped down on the bed, smelling the laundry detergent and smiling at the image of Edward washing this bedding and setting up this guest room.

As much as I wanted to close my eyes and relax, I needed to get changed and ready for bed. I reluctantly sat up and pulled my case closer, only now regretting not unpacking earlier. I pulled out my sleepwear and wash bag before heading for the bathroom. Here I rooted around and grabbed my toothbrush but didn't find any toothpaste. I looked again; surely, I'd packed it?

I looked around the immaculate bathroom but didn't find anything other than spare toilet rolls.

Damn.

I ran my tongue over my teeth. Yep, definitely needed toothpaste.

I didn't want to disturb Nessie. She and Jake came upstairs before us. They had a head start and so would either be asleep or…

I shuddered and strolled into the corridor towards Edward's room.

I knocked a little gingerly on the door, reluctant to disturb him, but within seconds, I heard his footsteps padding to the door.

He opened it wide, a surprised expression on his face as he gripped the door in one hand and the doorframe in the other.

He'd clearly started to get ready for bed already as he was now wearing dark blue and green check lounge pants and nothing else.

_Nothing else._

His bare chest was right at my eye-level. His soft skin somehow looked hard and the whispers of light hair adorning it made a delicious warmth radiate towards me. It was all right the hell there. So close, I could touch him.

But I didn't.

Obviously.

"I…ummm…" I started addressing his bare chest before I realized my mistake and lifted my eyes to meet his. "Ummm….toothpaste?"

An adorable smirk overtook Edward's face as he repeated my word back to me. "Toothpaste?"

I cleared my throat and tried not to look at his arms, but his biceps were on show and flexed as he gripped the white door frame. "Sorry, I…" I stopped, wet my suddenly dry lips, took a deep breath, then continued.

"It seems I forgot to bring any toothpaste with me. Could I borrow some, please?" I'd gone from a monosyllabic Neanderthal grunting out one word, to an overly polite idiot. At least Edward seemed to find me amusing rather than annoying.

"Of course." He turned and walked the length of his room, disappearing into what I assumed was his en-suite bathroom.

I watched him and waited. I didn't cross over the threshold; that was his personal space and would feel too intimate. I did, however, try not to watch the muscles in his back and the flex of his shoulders as he walked, so instead, I looked around.

At his bed.

_Not helping Bella. Do not go there._

The large wooden frame dominated the room, but what else is a bedroom for, if not a large, comfortable bed? His duvet was gray and folded back as if he'd left the bed to answer my knock at the door. There was a book, open and lying on the mattress with Edward's glasses next to it.

_Holy, hell. _I could picture him, bare-chested, glasses on, reading in bed.

He was only gone a few seconds before returning and holding out a tube of Crest, which left me vowing to use that brand for the rest of my life if it would give me pearly white teeth like his.

"Thanks." I reached out to grab the tube from him, but he didn't let go immediately, he held onto it for a beat longer before relenting.

"No problem." His smile was back, making me amazed I'd only just met this man today; I felt like I'd known him a lot longer.

"Goodnight," I whispered with one more glimpse at his chest. My stomach flopped as I made a hasty exit. As his bedroom door closed behind me I swear I heard a deep-toned chuckle.

**A/N: ****There will be drama, some angst and quite a bit of tension further into this story. These earlier chapters are setting the scene and I don't want to add drama for the sake of it. This is a warm-hearted fic with family at the core so I only write angst/drama when it's needed. I hope you'll hang around for it and still be reading then.**

**Thanks, as always to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, PearlyFox, Christy Wicklund, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs, Julie Gotcha Dodge, Star Fitchpatrick, Stephanie Vallejo, for giving up their time to beta, pre-read and make banners for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thanks also to anyone who has read this. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you for your support and lovely reviews so far. I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**EDWARD:**

I rolled over, grumbling out-loud at being woken by Jacob's clattering downstairs. I loved having him home, even if it was just for a night, but I'd forgotten how loud he could be. He wasn't the only person I liked having in my home, but I scrubbed my sleepy eyes and tried not to acknowledge that thought.

I lifted my arms high above my head and stretched deeply before I got up, knowing I was going to need a run this morning before I could think straight. I pulled on my basketball shorts and sleeveless top and used the bathroom before I quietly snuck downstairs. I didn't know if anyone other than Jacob was up, but I didn't want to see our guests before I'd been out in the fresh air and cleared my head.

I slipped on my worn runners and jogged down the steps onto the still damp grass. At first, I kept my run slow in place of a proper warm-up but, before long I'd picked up my pace and was speeding past the tall trees and low shrubs that surrounded my house.

I loved to run and relished the freedom I felt when there was nothing but me and the ground. I let my running playlist drown out my thoughts and spur me on to go faster. It worked for the first ten minutes or so; then, once I got in a rhythm and running became easier, my mind turned to _her_.

Christ, Nessie's Mom was not who I'd been expecting. I hadn't given much thought to what she'd be like, but I certainly wasn't expecting the beautiful, funny woman who made my eyes bug out of my head when I first saw her.

The more I got to know her, the nicer she seemed, and the more I knew I was in trouble. I don't fall for women easily. I hadn't had many partners, but I could still recognize the signs of attraction, and from what I could tell, Bella Swan looked like she could get me in all kinds of trouble.

Once my legs were straining, and my lungs burning, I turned for home. Even though I was aching and sweating, I was already feeling so much better.

I slowed to a jog as I approached the house, smiling as I heard voices inside. It warmed me even more than my run to hear Jake's laugh drifting out through the window to greet me. It was so much better than coming home to an empty, quiet house.

Once inside, I rested my hands on my knees and took a few deep breaths, I'd hammered it a bit hard this morning and was now feeling the effects.

"Jacob? Seriously?" Nessie was laughing as she tried to scold my son, and I wondered what he'd done this time to make her laugh. No doubt he was trying to impress Nessie with his pancake making skills, but I doubted that was working. The cooking gene had somehow skipped over my son completely and I was willing to bet big bucks that his pancakes were barely edible.

I slipped off my shoes and was wiping my sweaty forehead on my bicep while I followed the noise into the kitchen.

Sure enough, there was Jacob, flipping pancakes onto Nessie's plate as Bella poured syrup onto hers. _God help those women_. I hoped they were good actresses because they were going to need all their skills to reassure Jacob those pancakes were anything other than disgusting.

"Dad, you're just in time." Jacob held up a plate with the last remaining pancake.

I shook my head. "Sorry. You know I can't eat anything before I get a coffee." I clicked on the coffee machine and leaned back against the worktop while it purred to life. My breathing was just about normal now but I'm sure I still looked a mess. Maybe I should have cleaned up before I saw Nessie and Bella, but it was too late now. She was looking at me but whipped her gaze away sharply when I turned to her.

She looked amazing this morning. I was hoping I'd imagined her yesterday, but nope, she was dressed casually, with minimal make-up, but she still looked beautiful. That was until she took her first bite of Jacob's breakfast efforts and screwed up her face, almost choking at the taste.

"Are you okay?" Jacob looked concerned as I stifled a laugh. Bella glared at me and I gave her a cheeky grin back.

"Coffee first?" I offered, as Nessie gulped almost a whole glass of water to wash down her one bite of pancake.

Bella coughed a few more times, nodding emphatically as I set a mug of coffee down in front of her. I pushed her still full plate into the middle of the table. "I'm sure Bella will have that after coffee," I mumbled as Jake looked satisfied at my words.

Bella looked as though she didn't know whether to thank me for saving her from the horrible breakfast or curse me for laughing at her predicament. Either way, her expression was pretty adorable as she tried to recover herself.

I was definitely regretting not freshening up before I'd joined everyone in the kitchen. My face was sweaty, so I grabbed the bottom of my gray top and pulled it up, using the material to wipe my forehead. When I lowered my top, Bella's eyes were wide and shocked before she turned her head completely.

I looked away from her and turned to the sink. I ran the cold tap and splashed water on my face and my forearms in an effort to cool down. Why did I feel hotter here, under Bella's gaze, than I did on my run?

"Mom, is it cake time now?" Vanessa looked hopeful as I remembered the delight Bella and Vanessa had brought with them yesterday. I approached the fridge and filled a glass of ice-cold water, downed it, and filled another glass.

"It's always cake time on New Year's Day, Ness," Bella assured her daughter, who looked thrilled when Jake stood and grabbed the cake from the now open fridge.

"I'm sorry; you're being all healthy going for a run and the only thing I'm contributing is sugary temptation."

Bella was undoubtedly talking about the cake, but she was right, she was the temptation, right here in my kitchen and she was way more tempting to me than any cake.

Still, I just smiled and shook my head. "Nothing wrong with everything in moderation."

I handed her a knife just as Jake placed the cake in the middle of the table.

"I've been looking forward to this." I rubbed my hands together as Bella turned to take the knife from me. Her eyes quickly darted away from her not very subtle look at my biceps. She stood to put her weight behind the knife as she cut the cake and dished out four large slices.

I knew it was only a cake, but the ritual made me think about all of Jake's birthdays when he was a kid; all those times he'd never had his mom there to serve his cake like Bella just did. I thought of all Nessie's birthdays where Bella must have cut cakes for her, and I thought of our potential grandchildren, whose birthdays Bella and I would be at, together.

"All right, Dad?" Jacob was questioning me and I realized everyone was looking my way.

"Yeah." I shrugged. "This cake is amazing," I swallowed my first bite, chasing away my overthinking.

"Dad, are you going to Masen's today?" Jacob enquired.

"Maybe later." I shrugged, turning to my son. "I'm not due in, but you know I have trouble staying away."

"Mom, you should see their family restaurant, it's amazing," Nessie told Bella, possibly meaning her words, or possible saying them so she was engaged in conversation and no one could question her when she slid Jacob's plate of pancakes to one side and instead tucked into her own slice of cake.

"I'd love to." Bella nodded her thanks to me as I poured fresh coffee into her mug. She cradled it momentarily before moaning as the first sip touched her lips.

"You're welcome there anytime. How about you pop by one night this week? I can introduce you to more of our family since we all work there." I probably shouldn't have been so keen to see Bella again, no good could come from an attraction to her. But the words were out now, my voice betraying my common sense.

"Sure, I'd like that, "she told me before we exchanged cell numbers so we could arrange something once I'd checked my work schedule for the week ahead.

After agreeing on a night in mid-January, Bella left, assuring me she knew her way back to the main road where the Sat Nav would guide her to the freeway. Nessie was staying with Jake a while longer; God forbid those two were ever parted. Once Bella had packed her car, we shared an awkward, slightly lingering, hug goodbye. Damn, she smelled good. I probably didn't, as I still hadn't changed from my run, but Bella didn't seem to mind.

Once she left, I returned to the house and closed the front door. I leaned against the dark oak and sighed as I closed my eyes. I had worried about getting on with Vanessa's mom. I'd wondered what it would be like to be so closely linked to a stranger, while both still parenting our child, and kind of each other's now, too. I was so used to being a single dad that I didn't know how to parent with anyone or how to share Jacob with anyone.

I scoffed; I wish that was how I still felt. Now I was more worried about liking Bella too much than not at all.

The rest of the day consisted of me watching Indiana Jones with Jake and Nessie before they started packing to return to their apartment. I loved having Jake here; the dreaded empty nest had hit me harder than expected when he left home. I was so used to it being just us two, a two-man team. Now it was me rattling around in this big house with memories of Jake in every room. I couldn't complain though, those memories were the reason I couldn't sell and move.

Once the kids left, I did housework for another hour or so but inevitably gave up and headed to Masen's.

Our family-run restaurant was named after my well-loved grandfather. The large red-roofed building was clad in stone, while the inside was modern and spacious, but always family-friendly.

I had hardly put a foot through the door before my brother, Emmett, greeted me with a slap on the back and a hearty, "Happy New Year, Bro!"

I returned his greeting, wondering why he was so jolly when he'd worked until the early hours of the morning.

"How'd it go last night?" I asked, knowing full well how it was working New Year's Eve here. It was simultaneously exhausting and great fun with the regulars.

"The usual." He shrugged. "So, your little boy gets married this year!"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Tell me about it. He's still six-years-old, isn't he?"

"Afraid not." Emmett clapped me on the back with his bear-like hands and laughed at my mock distress.

"How was your first New Year's Eve off in five years? Do you even remember it or were you asleep by nine pm?"

"Actually, Jake and Vanessa stayed over…"

"You were the third wheel? Ouch, you need to get laid, Ed!" He was placing cutlery on the tables by the window, the most popular tables. I grabbed a handful of knives and followed him around, placing the knives opposite the forks he was laying down.

"I wasn't actually…" That made my brother spin around so fast he stumbled slightly before righting himself. I will admit it had been a while since I'd been anything but a third wheel so I couldn't blame Emmett for his shock. Shame he'd got the wrong idea from my words, though.

"… Vanessa's mom came as well … " I tried to sound calm and play down this information, but Emmett seemed to hear behind my words.

"You met the monster-in-law? Damn! How did that go?"

"Just because your mother-in-law is the devil reincarnated doesn't mean Jake won't get on with his." I felt strangely protective of Bella, already, after just one meeting. I brushed aside that feeling, reassuring myself it was just my eagerness for Jake to be accepted by his new family that made me want to like Bella as much as I already did.

"Okay, okay." Emmett chuckled and held up his hands apologetically. "I'm sure she's nice. Will the rest of us get to meet her soon?"

"Of course. We'll all be family soon." Those words stuck in my throat as I forced them out. Emmett looked at me with a slightly odd expression before we were interrupted by Jessica, our newest and youngest waitress.

She batted her eyelashes at me, apologizing for the interruption before she proceeded to ask us if she could finish her shift early, not the best start to her new job. Once we'd granted her permission, she turned and added a little wiggle to her walk as she headed back to the kitchen.

"Damn! She's got it bad for you," Emmett whispered as he nudged my shoulder with his.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"I'm serious," he continued. "She was practically drooling. Usually, I wouldn't encourage a relationship with our staff, but you don't seem to have any other prospects."

"Emmett. She's the same age as my son!"

Emmett looked a little sheepish. "Okay, that might be true." He conceded. "Maybe you need a more mature woman."

I gritted my teeth when Bella's face popped up in my head and I physically rubbed my temples, trying to erase the image of her doe eyes and the way her hair curled around her face, framing it in the moonlight as we talked.

"Yeah, sure, I'll get right on that," I grumbled as Emmett laughed at me and finally left me alone to wallow in my own thoughts.

**A/N: Thanks as always to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, PearlyFox, Christy Wicklund, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs, Julie Gotcha Dodge, Star Fitchpatrick, Stephanie Vallejo, for giving up their time to beta, pre-read and make banners for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time.**

**Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you for your support and lovely reviews so far. I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Edward:**

I'd been on edge all morning, Emmett had already teased me for writing the wrong specials on the board, and then berated me for dropping a stack of cutlery ten minutes later.

I didn't want to acknowledge the reason I was so on edge; I knew it was because I'd be meeting Bella again, but that shouldn't make me this nervous.

I cricked my neck and rolled the sleeves of my shirt up to my elbows, so they didn't dip in the soapy water I was about to use to rinse the napkin holders. I'd just about managed to lose the tension in my shoulders when the door opened, prompting me to spin around and watch as _she_ walked inside.

"Damn," I whispered under my breath. I was hoping Bella wouldn't be quite as pretty as I remembered. But, here she was, a few minutes early to our lunch and looking cute and a little flustered as her eyes flitted around, presumably looking for the kids and me.

I pulled a dishcloth from my shoulder, swiped over the counter with it in a subconscious move before I slung it back over my shoulder, drying my hands on it as I did so.

I stuck my head into the kitchen, "Em, I'm taking a break now."

His voice answered from somewhere in the kitchen. "Okay. Oh, is Nessie's mom here? Can I meet her?"

"Errr, sure. Come and find us when you get a minute."

"Will do."

I left the kitchen and rounded the counter, approaching Bella before she saw me. Double damn. She looked so good. She was wearing some kind of sweater dress with high boots and a belt that pinched in her already small waist.

I pushed my sleeves further up past my elbows as she turned and noticed me. I swear her eyes swept my whole body, zoning in on my forearms before she found my eyes.

"Hi, sorry, I'm a bit early."

"No problem, it's a good time for me to take a break. Follow me, table ten is reserved for us."

I walked in front of her, mainly to lead the way, but partly because I didn't want to be caught staring at her ass. I stopped at the newly reserved table ten and gestured for Bella to sit.

"What do you want to drink? It's on the house, as is your food today." She looked surprised as I waited for her order, acting more like her waiter than the person who was going to sit and eat with her.

"You don't have to do that," she objected.

"I want to. We're going to be family soon, right?" Maybe I shouldn't have pointed that out, but whatever way we phrased it, it was true.

I returned to our table a few minutes later with a drink for both of us and sat opposite Bella, sliding her a full glass of iced tea as she pocketed her cell.

"I'm guessing it was too much to ask for the kids to be on time?" Talking about Nessie and Jake seemed safe ground for small talk.

"It looks that way." Bella checked her watch just as her phone buzzed, and she sighed when she looked at the screen. "Nessie said they're running late; they'll be about fifteen minutes."

I nodded, not too upset at this time alone with Bella. "At least she tells you, Jake would just leave me sitting here. It wouldn't be the first time," I grumbled light heartedly.

"I'd understand if you have to get back to work until they arrive." Bella looked around the restaurant floor, but I just shrugged.

"No, it's fine. I'm pleased for the break." I pulled the dishcloth off my shoulder, so I looked less like I was still at work, and then I took a sip of my drink.

"So, how have you been since the New Year?"

"Oh. Good." Bella looked at me and smiled, I think she was appreciating me staying and getting to know her. "No resolutions have been broken yet unless you count the no chocolate one, which I don't because that was stupid. Who can last without chocolate?"

I chuckled and nodded. "I'm more of a savory man myself."

"Really? Hmmm, not me, I love dessert. Does anyone who eats here ever start with dessert?"

I smiled at her enthusiasm for chocolate. "It's happened once or twice."

She chuckled. "I've always wanted to do that, but I chicken out when it comes time to order."

"Really? Let's change that today." I stood and walked the fifty feet or so to the kitchen, hearing Bella's quiet protests behind me.

"Hey, Em, do we have any of yesterday's chocolate cake left?"

"Dessert? Already? I think there's one slice. There was more, but Rosie made me take some home last night."

"Ask one of the wait staff to bring it to table ten, can you?"

"Sure." He was distracted with his head in the industrial-sized fridge, so I left him and returned to sit with Bella.

She grinned at me. "What have you done?" I took in her infectious smile and tried not to acknowledge how it made me feel.

"Ordered us a slice of the best chocolate cake in the state." I was confident about that.

"Hmmm, is that so?" She picked up her fork and wiggled her eyebrows at me. It did funny things to my insides, but I tried to ignore it. "I might need some convincing, I know my chocolate cake."

"I'm not worried." I kept eye contact with her but sat back in my seat and crossed my arms behind my head. I saw Bella clocking my arms and biceps but didn't have the time to dwell on that as Jessica appeared with a plate of cake and two small bowls, one with cream and one with ice cream.

"That'll be all for now, thanks, Jessica," I told the still hovering waitress, trying to ignore the less than pleasant look she was giving Bella.

Bella, however, didn't seem to notice, she was already plunging her fork into the cake, her eyes wide with happiness.

I tried to suppress my grin (and my dick) when Bella moaned quietly after her first bite of cake.

"See."

She was too busy eating to reply.

That's how the kids found us when they turned up a few minutes later. The plate of demolished cake was in the middle of the table, and we were each holding a fork as we looked up guiltily at our children.

"Hi!" we chorused as Nessie sat next to Bella, and Jake took the last spare seat next to me.

"What did we miss?" He asked me.

"We were just killing Bella's New Year's resolution once and for all," I explained.

"Oh, the chocolate thing?" Nessie asked as she slipped her coat off and turned to hang it on the back of her seat. "She fluffed that one ages ago!"

"Thanks, Ness!" Bella grumbled just as Emmett approached the table.

"Bella, this is my brother, Emmett, the head chef here." Bella stood and shook Emmett's pre-offered hand as they greeted each other.

"Are you responsible for that chocolate cake?" Bella pointed to the empty plate in the middle of the table, and Emmett chuckled.

"That was for you two? I should have known. Eddie uses any excuse to impress the ladies with the chocolate cake."

"Emmett!" I scolded him, shooting him a _what the fuck l_ook when he turned my way. Bella looked a little deflated as Emmett clapped me on the back and shrugged off my words.

"Sorry, Ed, I know you're busy, but can you just lend me your muscles for five minutes. The meat delivery just arrived, and I need to get everything in the cooler straight away."

"Sure." I turned to the others. "Jacob, you can help too. Ladies, we'll be right back. Pick anything off the menu, Emmett here will cook for you."

I smirked at Emmett, pleased to get my own back.

Emmett and I walked ahead, but Jacob seemed to be taking his time leaving the table. He was probably saying a fluffy goodbye to Nessie even though he'd be back in a few minutes. Jeez, that kid was whipped.

"Man, you did not tell me Nessie's mom was smoking hot."

Jacob apparently wasn't taking as long as I thought because I heard him behind us. He scoffed as I elbowed my brother in the universal sign for, _shut the fuck up_.

"What? Is she single?"

"Emmett!" I shot him daggers as Jacob caught up to us, now laughing.

"Yes. She's single." Jacob told Emmett as I glared at my son.

"Don't encourage him!" I hissed.

Jacob shrugged. "She is. Nessie says she hasn't been with anyone serious in years." I tried not to acknowledge how pleased that made me. I should want her to be happy with a partner, but the thought of her with someone didn't sit right with me.

I suddenly felt Emmett's elbow hard in my ribs. "Huh?" I glared at him.

"Daydreaming there were you?" he teased as I glared at him. These two were annoying me today. I was having a perfectly nice time with Bella before they both got here.

"I was saying I'm gonna give Riley a call, get him down here."

"Riley? Why?" What the hell was Emmett playing at?

"Because I've just met a hot, single woman he'd like!" To my total horror, Emmett then pulled his cell from the pocket of his pants. "He and Bella would really hit it off, don't you think?"

I swiped the phone out of Emmett's hand, catching him off guard as he grumbled at me. "What the hell?"

"Emmett, you don't even know her. What on earth makes you think she wants to meet Riley?"

"I'm just trying to do a buddy a favor. She looked like his type, he's a good guy, no harm in getting them to meet and letting them take it from there."

"Hell, no!"

"Why not?" I could see Emmett was suspicious, so I knew I had to cool down my emotions in front of both him and Jacob.

I shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "I just don't think it will create a very good impression of our family if you try and set her up with some jock the first time you meet her. We're going to be in each other's lives forever, we'll probably share grandkids. Please don't show her what a jerk you are so early on, let her work it out for herself, yeah?" I tried to add humor to my words as Emmett nodded and lowered his phone.

"I suppose you're right."

We'd reached the delivery truck now and formed a chain to move the meat inside as quickly as we could. Praying to God I didn't smell like fresh meat, Jake and I returned to find Bella and Nessie, their heads thrown back in laughter before they spotted us taking our seats next to them.

Jake's hand immediately found Nessie's thigh, and she turned to him, radiating love in her smile. As much as I teased the kid for being whipped, I couldn't pretend it wasn't heartwarming to see my son so in love and so happy.

"So, we have news!" Nessie was practically bouncing in her seat as she addressed both Bella and me. I could see Bella's smile in Nessie's features, and it made me smile too.

"Okay." Bella turned to me, I think to work out if I knew what the kids had been up to, but I shrugged at her, and we both turned back to Jake and Nessie.

"We've booked a wedding venue!" Nessie was practically squealing as she clapped her hands together with delight. Bella gasped, and I just looked confused.

"How? Already?" That was Bella speaking, but she'd pretty much summed up what I wanted to say.

"There's a Manor House on Pleasant Beach, and it's so perfect. They've had a cancellation and we snapped it up. We're going tomorrow evening to pay a deposit. We wanted you both to come with us to check it out."

"Tomorrow. Baby, I have work tomorrow." Bella sounded disheartened as she spoke, and I felt for her.

"I know. We'll meet you there about 6pm, you can make that, can't you?"

Both Ness's look and tone were pleading, and when Bella spoke, she sounded relieved.

"Sure. I should be able to do 6pm."

"If you've booked a venue, you must have a date?" I asked

"Yeah, April 21st," Jake told us, his grin reminding me of Christmas mornings and swimming tournament victories.

"April!" Bella spluttered into her drink. "As in this April? As in four months away?"

I scoffed. She sounded horrified even though I was pretty sure she approved of Jake as a groom. I couldn't blame her though; this was all happening very fast.

"Of course!" Nessie had grabbed hold of Jake's hand and was squeezing it tightly in her excitement.

"Jake, I told you, we're happy to do the catering here, Masen's has room for all your guests…"

"Dad, I appreciate it, but no. We want the family to be free to enjoy the wedding, not to worry about anything, especially you. I know you'll be on duty if we host it here."

"You're right," I admitted. "But the offer will always be there."

"Thanks. We appreciate that, but the Manor House is amazing, you'll see."

"And you can afford this?" I asked cautiously. I'd always brought Jake up to be conscious of money. He knew he always had a job and inheritance in Masen's, so I never wanted him to be complacent.

"Dad, we're grown-ups now. Trust me, we've got this." Jake looked at Nessie with so much tenderness I had to look away.

"Well then, it looks like we'll be seeing you tomorrow," I told them, but I couldn't say I was too disappointed to be seeing Bella again.

**A/N: There will be drama, some angst and quite a bit of tension further into this story. These earlier chapters are setting the scene and I don't want to add drama for the sake of it. This is a warm hearted fic with family at the core so I only write angst/drama when it's needed.**

**Thanks as always to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, PearlyFox, Christy ****Wicklund****, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs, Julie Gotcha Dodge, Star Fitchpatrick, Stephanie Vallejo, for giving up their time to beta, pre-read. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thanks also to anyone who has read this. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews. **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you for your support and lovely reviews so far. I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Bpov:

The tires of my car crunched on the loose gravel as I pulled up to the impressive-looking Manor House. The tree-lined path from the road to the parking lot had guided my way here and I could already picture Mason jars hanging from the branches and twinkling lights illuminating the way in the dusk.

So, this is where Vanessa wanted to get married? I should say Vanessa and Jake, but I'm not sure Jake was too concerned about the venue. He was relaxed enough to let Nessie make the decisions, so she, in turn, wanted my opinion.

Oh, and Edward's, because as I stepped out onto the uneven ground, I saw him leaning against the stone building.

He stood with Nessie and Jake, one knee bent, his foot against the wall, casually waiting. At least this time, he was fully dressed rather than in that running outfit that showed off his biceps and thighs. Ugh! His thighs!

I took a deep breath and tried not to think about that visual. That plan hadn't been working too well for me lately, but I didn't want him to know that, so I smoothed over my wrap style dress and walked purposely towards them. I'd come straight from an important work meeting, so, thankfully, I didn't look too shabby. The dress cinched in my waist and hinted at my cleavage, all the while being perfectly respectable.

I tried not to look at Edward and acknowledge the way he was looking at me. I shouldn't care. Except I did. Damn him and his crisp white shirt. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, displaying his delicious forearms that I was going to have to try hard not to stare at.

I greeted them all, but only gave Edward a tight smile before we were quickly ushered inside to meet the wedding planner, Lauren. She was overly perky and certainly gave Edward more than just a smile.

She showed us around the building, pointing out the rooms that could be used the night before, and the night of the wedding, the hall for the reception, and the outdoor space if the weather was good on that day. She proudly showed off photos of previous weddings hosted here, getting delighted gasps from Nessie, clearly, she was already invested in this venue.

Finally, Lauren left us alone to talk, and Jake didn't waste a second ribbing Edward.

"Jeez, Dad, she wasn't at all subtle. I thought she was going to grab you to demonstrate how to use the bed in the honeymoon suite."

"Jacob!" Edward snapped, not seeing the funny side of his son's words.

"Dad, if she doesn't ask for your number before we leave, I'll owe you a drink."

"If she does ask, I'm giving her your number!" Edward's voice gave away the joke in his words, but he still didn't look amused.

"What?! What's wrong with going for a drink with her?"

"Jacob. We're here for your wedding. Let's stick to that, yeah?" Although Edward phrased it like a question, there was no doubting his words. Jake shrugged as Nessie diplomatically guided him away to check out the ballroom where the evening reception would take place.

"We're just going to take another look around," she told us over her shoulder before they disappeared through the ornate double doors.

That left a rather grumpy Edward and me, outside … alone.

I walked over to a circular wooden table that was under the shade of a large oak tree. The table looked a little weathered and rickety, but the chairs seemed sturdy, so I took my chances and cautiously sat down.

I looked back at Edward, he stood with his hands in his pant pockets, looking like a damn model with his shirt hugging his chest and his wristwatch glistening in the sun.

He caught my eye and slowly walked towards me, taking the other seat at the table, opposite me.

Damn him. He looked confident and casual as the setting sun highlighted the rugged handsomeness of his face.

I was trying not to be annoyed, but I was struggling to look away from him. He was sending the butterflies in my body into overdrive, and my fingers were itching to stroke the small gathering of stubble on his jaw. How could I carry on like this? Every time I saw him, I wanted more. It was exhausting to hide how I felt and try to guess what he was feeling, too.

"Do you like this place?" He asked casually, leaning back in his seat and resting one of his shiny shoes on the opposite knee as he relaxed.

"Ummm…yeah." I cleared my throat and tried to sound more convincing. "I think it's beautiful, and there are some amazing spots to take photos."

Edward nodded. "Yeah. If Jake's happy, so am I."

"Me too. Nessie keeps asking my opinion on flowers, dresses, DJs, and God knows what else. I appreciate her involving me, but honestly, this is all foreign to me and I just want her to be happy."

"You haven't been married before?" Edward looked surprised as he spoke, which in turn surprised me. I'd have thought Nessie would have told him about my past, but apparently not.

"No, never. You could say I'm a spinster." I probably shouldn't have been so self deprecating and I shouldn't have made light of my situation but it was always how I'd handled that question.

Edward scoffed and shot me one of his amazing smiles. The one that showed off his pearly white teeth and made you feel like you were both in on the same joke that the rest of the world hadn't heard. "Hardly!"

"It's true," I insisted with a shy grin of my own. "I just need to adopt a few cats to make it absolutely official." Usually if I was asked why I wasn't married the question would annoy me but with Edward I could tell he wasn't judging, he was genuinely curious about my past.

"How…how…" Edward looked shocked as he licked his lips and started again. "How is that possible?"

"Well, you live all your life in small town America before venturing out to the big city where you meet a handsome Englishman, fall madly in love, and realize the only way he can stay in the country is to marry you. Then, two weeks before the wedding, he freaks out and moves back home, leaving you with a present that would take nine months to appear."

Despite Edward's eyes going wide, I could tell he was trying to hide his shock. Perhaps, I should have explained my past more diplomatically, but I felt I'd covered the main points quite nicely.

"Bastard," Edward grumbled under his breath.

I looked at him, surprised by the venom with which he spoke.

"Sorry." He looked slightly sheepish.

"It's fine. For a long time, I'd have agreed with you." I smiled at him, delighting in the smile I received back.

Edward nodded, his gaze intense before he spoke, sounding serious again. "I'm sorry that happened to you. Did he have any contact with Vanessa?" Edward sounded genuinely concerned and I felt even more of a jerk for being so blunt with him.

"Not really." I shrugged as if I wasn't affected when, of course, I had been. "These days, Skype and FaceTime would have made it possible, but back then, it was just him writing the occasional letter before … well, before he died."

Edward's face was solemn as he uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "When did he pass away?"

"When Nessie was three."

Edward closed his eyes as if blocking my words. "Wow. I'm sorry you both went through that."

I shrugged. "I don't want to sound heartless but…well…it wasn't much of a change. He'd never been involved with Nessie. He'd never woken in the night for her, never taken her to daycare, never contributed to her life. When it happened, she didn't realize anything was different. Now, of course, she's missing out on building a relationship with him and having him walk her down the aisle, but when it actually happened, it didn't change anything for us."

Edward nodded. "How sad. She's a fantastic kid. He missed out on a lot."

"Yep." I agreed as I looked up to hear footsteps crunching the gravel on the path between the Manor House and us.

"Here come the kids," I whispered feeling like our conversation was now over. I felt I had my guard up around Edward, trying to hide my feelings in front of him, but he had a way of seeing through my friendly outlook and somehow getting behind my mask to see the real me. I didn't know if I loved it or hated it.

Both Nessie and Jake were beaming, and I knew even before Nessie spoke that they decided to take the cancellation spot and get married here in four months.

"Ness, this is going to take a hell of a lot of organizing. Your dress, the flowers, rings, photographer…"

"Mom, it's fine," Nessie interrupted.

"Yeah," Jake chipped in. "We're going to use a florist Dad uses for the restaurant, the rings can be picked from a jeweler any time we're free, and I have a photographer friend…"

"Jacob, Bella has a point," Edward chipped in, and it felt strange having someone to speak up to support my parenting. That wasn't something I was used to. I looked at Edward and gave him a soft smile before Jake again gained my attention.

"Dad, we appreciate your concern, but honestly, we've got this."

Edward looked his son in the eyes and held his gaze. He then nodded. "Okay, kid. I trust you."

It seemed there wasn't much more to say. I was happy for them, and I'd do all I could to help pull this off, including contributing to the wedding. I'm not sure if Edward was planning on helping them out, but I felt it was something we should talk about.

With that in mind, I text Edward a few days later, offering to meet up soon.

_Bella: "Hey, hope all is well with you. I wondered if you're free to meet? There are a few wedding things I wanted to discuss without the kids around."_

_Edward: "Sure, good idea. Next week is manic for me with Valentine's Day, can we make it the week after?"_

_Bella: "Wow, you sound in demand! Sure, wanna come to mine? I feel it's my turn to host. Can you do the following Friday?"_

_Edward: "Hah! Hardly! The restaurant is crazy busy for Valentine's Day, not me! Single guy here has drawn the short straw as usual! Text me your address, and I'll be there."_

The fact that Edward was coming to my house made me happier than it should have, but the fact that he had told me he was single made me even happier still.

Now we just needed to both behave ourselves and keep our feelings in check for the sake of the very kids we were trying to help.

**A/N: ****Thanks as always to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, PearlyFox, Christy Wicklund, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs, Julie Gotcha Dodge, Star Fitchpatrick, Stephanie Vallejo, for giving up their time to beta, pre-read and make banners for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time.**

**Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Bella:

Finally, the following Friday arrived. I shouldn't have been looking forward to it as much as I was, but I kept reiterating it was a good thing Edward and I liked each other so much, for the sake of the kids of course!

I'd worn my favorite dress to work today and told myself it was for my important meeting, not so I was still wearing it when I saw Edward later.

When he turned up, he was handsome as ever in dark jeans and a checked shirt. I tried to stop my eyes from roaming over his tall frame as he stepped inside my house, toed off his boots and shrugged out of his jacket.

I bit my lip, suddenly overwhelmed with the reality of having him here and the uncertain feeling that it wasn't a good idea for us to be alone together. The kids weren't here as buffers tonight, and that thrilled me and worried me in equal measure.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Edward had taken a seat at my breakfast bar while I busied myself in the kitchen, making us drinks. I glanced over and my tummy rolled to see him sitting so casually in my house.

"Ummm…well, I'll just dive in and say it."

He looked a little concerned but nodded at me to continue.

"Finances. I want to help the kids out with the wedding but wasn't sure how to approach the whole situation. I know, traditionally, it's the bride's family who pays for the wedding, but with Nessie's dad gone…"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Edward butted in firmly. "Bella, don't for a second think anyone expects you to foot the bill for this. That thought hasn't even crossed my mind." He sounded so genuine and the look on his face told me he was being truthful.

"Thank you. I appreciate that. I don't have much, but I have been able to save a little to help them."

"Me too." Edward nodded. "I've been thinking the same, but I didn't want to offend you…your family…the kids…anyone…by offering. Money is such a delicate subject…" He trailed off as his fingers brushed over his slightly stubbled jaw.

I set a steaming cup of coffee in front of him before taking a seat opposite him.

"I did have one idea I wanted to discuss with you." I started cautiously.

"Go ahead." Edward's eyes met mine, looking so sincere as he waited for my answer.

I licked my lips, which I hadn't noticed I'd done until Edward's eyes snapped to them for a beat too long before he returned his gaze to my eyes.

"I don't think the kids are planning a honeymoon straight away. It would be hard for them to afford that on top of the wedding. I thought if you were up for it, we could group together and surprise them with a vacation."

Edward was already nodding as a relaxed grin spread across his ridiculously handsome face. "That sounds like a brilliant idea."

"Really? Don't feel obliged to contribute…"

"No, honestly, Bella, it's perfect. Jake's been a bit stubborn, assuring me they can pay for the wedding themselves and insisting he wants to provide for Nessie. This way, he will still get the satisfaction of paying for the wedding, but we still get to help out."

"Yeah, I thought it would send a good message to them that you and I are in this together. They'll see we can get on well and support them." My words trailed off as I talked about the two of us being a team.

Edward swallowed as he met my gaze. "Definitely."

So that's how Edward and I spent the next hour or so planning our kids' honeymoon. We knew they wanted to go to Hawaii together, so before long, I'd rounded the breakfast bar and stood close to Edward, sharing my MacBook screen with him as we searched flights and hotels.

"Damn," Edward huffed good-naturedly. "This place looks so nice, I want to go there myself!"

It was then I realized how close I was now standing to him. He'd been to the bathroom earlier and when he came back, he stood next to me at the breakfast bar rather than returning to his seat. We were now shoulder to shoulder and I could feel his body heat and the strong muscles of his broad shoulders.

Watching Edward's hands on the keyboard was making me wish they were touching my skin the way they were touching those keys, and the thought of him topless in the hot tub currently on the screen was making my mind race with possibilities. Images of him on New Year's Day, sweaty and half topless were playing through my mind.

"Bella?"

"Sorry?" Shit, I'd zoned out a little too much that time. "Yeah, sorry, what were you saying?" I needed to move away and break this connection so I collected our now empty cups and returned them to the kitchen sink.

"I said I'll talk to my brother-in-law before we book. I think his firm gets discounts on this airline, and we could save some money or possibly pay the same but get the kids an upgrade."

"Sounds great. Let me know and I can always transfer you my share of the money when you're ready to book."

"Will do." He nodded as he rounded the breakfast bar and stood next to me. "I'm really glad you contacted me about this. I've had a great evening."

I smiled at him. "I'm sure when women normally invite you to their house, you don't usually look at a computer for an hour and discuss your kid's travel insurance and vacation dates."

Edward smiled. "I haven't really … it's been a while since I've done anything at another woman's house."

"Oh." His words surprised me, but I appreciated his honesty. "Well, it's been a while since I've invited a guy over, so I guess we're even."

"Yeah? Damn! Our kids are getting so much more action than either of us." He laughed and I joined in.

"It's been so long, I'm not sure I even remember how to flirt, let alone be in a relationship." I joked.

Edward scoffed. "I'm not an expert, but I'd say you don't have anything to worry about. I mean, you have your shit together; great job, great house, great kid, great … everything." His voice turned to a whisper as he walked closer to me.

I smiled at him and was so struck by his genuine expression that I didn't filter my next words. "I haven't met anyone like you in a really long time. I kind of wish we'd met under different circumstances."

Edward took a deep breath, and I desperately wanted to know what he was thinking but he was silent as his gaze met mine.

His silence dragged on, making me feel self-conscious. " I'm sorry. I said too much." I clamped my hand to my mouth and started to turn away.

Edward held my shoulder and gently turned me back to face him. He was unnaturally close, but while my mind thought that was a bad idea, my body loved it.

He ran his hand over his stubbled jaw before his intense gaze met mine. "No. You said exactly what I've been thinking for weeks." His voice was quiet, but his words were strong with conviction.

Neither of us spoke. His body was only inches from mine, and his rough breaths were the only sounds in the room.

"Do you feel this, Bella? Surely you feel this?" He was looking at me intently, his dark eyes pleading. His fingertips lowered to graze my elbow, gripping it softly and pulling me, just a touch closer to him.

I was shocked he was acknowledging this thing between us. Shocked that I wasn't crazy, that these feelings weren't one-sided. I didn't know if that thrilled me or petrified me.

"Feel this? Of course, I feel this! It's all I feel every time we're together." That should have been a good thing, but it wasn't. This thing between us could never result in a happily ever after; we'd only end up with broken hearts.

"You do?" He sounded relieved as he whispered his words in disbelief.

I nodded, feeling every nerve in my body tighten when his hand stroked down from my elbow to my wrist.

"Christ. We're so screwed." There was no humor in his voice.

"Edward, we can't act on these feelings," I told him. He was insane if he thought we could have something between us.

"I know." He nodded, but his tone was soft. "I know that, I do," he repeated as if he was trying to convince himself more than me. He paused, then took a deep breath and spoke again. "The trouble is; you seem to have no idea how much I want to kiss you." His words were barely above a whisper as I stood still, feeling paralyzed.

I wanted him to kiss me so badly and I couldn't tell him not to. I couldn't resist this now that I knew he felt the same. A small, unintentional groan escaped my mouth, making a smile pull at the corners of Edward's lips. It seemed to give him the courage to speak again.

"Bella, say the word, and I'll walk away, and we can pretend nothing happened here."

I heard what he was saying, but I knew that wasn't what either of us wanted. I shook off the practical voice in my head and listened to the part of me that so desperately wanted this to happen. I raised my hand and rested my palm on his cheek, my thumb resting along his chiseled jaw and feeling the smile he was directing my way.

He leaned closer to me, and I moved my hand to the back of his neck, pulling his lips to meet mine, not that it took much encouragement.

His lips were soft and warm, and I could feel his chest vibrate with the power of the groan that escaped when his tongue met mine.

"Oh, fuck…" he cursed. He walked me a few steps backward until my back hit the kitchen worktop and our kiss deepened. I'd like to say the kiss was soft and sensual, but it wasn't. It was fast and rough and all-consuming; I didn't know where I stopped, and he started, and I was breathless within seconds. My thumb was still resting on his jaw so I could feel its frantic movements as we gave in to the emotions we'd both been feeling for weeks.

One of his hands was in my hair, the other on my lower back, pulling me flush against him. I felt his strong, hard chest and his entire muscular body against mine. It had been so long since I'd felt this close to anyone and for this person to be Edward made me almost melt with need and want.

Edward seemed to feel the same as he groaned and deepened our kiss. My hands worked their way in between our bodies so I could feel his chest, I was desperate to touch him there and feel his skin. He slowed and moved away a fraction, and I gripped his shirt to stop him moving back too far.

When his lips left mine, he met my eyes, his own were twinkling with lust and mischief, making me wonder if I looked equally as amazed as him.

"Bella, damn." He rested his forehead on mine and took several deep breaths. "I was really hoping that would be bad." He chuckled, and I felt the vibrations in his chest, right under my fingertips.

"Mmmm," I agreed. "Things would be a lot simpler if we didn't feel like this."

Edward lifted his head and held my shoulders, taking a more serious stance.

"I…I don't know what we do now. I know what I want to do…but I'm not sure what you're thinking."

His words were the jolt that brought me to my senses.

I pulled away from him, the delicious butterflies in my body turned to cement, making my heart drop to my feet at the realization that nothing had changed. We shouldn't be together, and kissing him would only make our situation so much worse. "Oh, God, we can't do this."

Edward looked crushed. I saw disappointment flash across his face before he composed himself. "I know our situation isn't ideal…"

"Ideal? Agreed, Edward, my daughter marrying your son, means us hooking up is far from _ideal_." I pulled away from his spark-inducing touch and met his gaze with pity of my own. I was suddenly horror-struck; did he think we could actually be together? "You do know this can't happen, right?"

"I guess not." His hand had replaced mine on the back of his neck as he rubbed the same spot I had seconds earlier.

"Edward, what did you think would happen here? We'd kiss, and then what?"

"I don't know," he admitted.

I sighed and tried to regain my composure. "I'm sorry. I don't want to sound harsh, I just…I wish things were different."

Edward nodded. "Me too." He wrung his hands together, nodding to himself before he spoke again. "I think I should leave; it's getting late…" he trailed off, we both knew that wasn't the reason he was leaving.

It seemed like a good idea, though, we both needed time and space to think about what had just happened and I couldn't do that with him in my kitchen with me.

That meant our evening finished with a difficult goodbye as Edward left almost immediately. I walked behind him to the door, standing a little awkwardly as he pulled on his boots and stuffed his arms into his coat rather vigorously.

When he was ready to leave, he turned to me. His eyes dropped to my lips and lingered there before he sighed. His fingertips brushed against my hair, tucking a strand behind my ear before we made eye contact.

"I'm used to knowing what to fucking say," he chuckled humorlessly as he ran his hands through his hair before resuming his intense look. "I might not know what to do for the best, but I know I'm developing real feelings for you and those feelings aren't going anywhere."

I was stunned by what he was saying. "Edward…" I paused. I didn't know what to say.

He smiled down at me. "You don't have to say anything, Bella. I just wanted you to know how I'm feeling." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead and I breathed in his smell. He lingered for a few extra seconds before turning and walking out the door.

Once I closed my front door behind him, I rested my back against it and held back my tears. I didn't know if I felt elated that Edward had feelings for me or mortified that we'd crossed a line we really shouldn't have.

It was then and there that I decided I couldn't do this. I couldn't be around him while I felt this way. It was fun at first; he reminded me I was capable of feeling such intense attraction again, but he was my almost, son-in-law's father. We were going to be family.

I needed time and space to get over him before the wedding when we'd inevitably be thrust together many times just to get through the day.

So, for the next few weeks, I avoided him. I replied to his rather business sounding texts about the honeymoon finances in an equally formal fashion. Each time Nessie invited me to the restaurant, I found an excuse or reason not to go.

I wasn't proud of myself; I wasn't used to deliberately missing time with my daughter. However, I couldn't be around Edward just yet.

The trouble was I couldn't avoid the bachelorette party. It was coming up next week, and I decided the best way to handle that little problem was to wear the best, kick-ass dress I could and pray to God I had a large reserve of willpower.

**A/N: ****Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, PearlyFox, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs, Julie Gotcha Dodge, Star Fitchpatrick, Stephanie Vallejo, for giving up their time to beta, pre-read and make banners for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time.**

**Thanks also to anyone who has read this. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Bella:

"Okay…Nessie, you have to tell me if this is too much…be honest."

"Mom, it's my bachelorette party, if you can't dress up now, when can you?" her muffled voice replied through my closed bedroom door.

I smoothed down my LBD and took another look in the mirror, turning left, then right to check all angles. I'd gone for the classic look tonight. The dress wasn't new; I'd worn it on a few occasions when I wanted to impress. I knew it fit well and showed a peek of cleavage, but its main feature was the way it showed off my toned legs, especially when I slipped on my heels.

"Are you sure I won't cramp your style?" I asked. We'd planned to get an Uber to the restaurant tonight. Not Edward's restaurant for once, Jake and his buddies were going there, then we'd meet up with the boys later at a club.

"Of course not," she replied as I swung open the door to Nessie's shocked face.

"Mom! Wow!"

"It's too much, isn't it?" I rushed back to my wardrobe, rifling through my dresses as Nessie stepped into my room. She held my shoulders and spun me around.

"Mom, it's perfect! You'll turn some heads tonight for sure." I gave her a tight smile. There was only one head I wanted turning in my direction tonight, and the inappropriateness of that situation made me look away from my daughter without meeting her eyes.

She was busy rifling through my jewelry drawer. "Here…add this. You need a little color and the silver will be perfect with the black." Nessie was handing me a plunging silver necklace, the kind that naturally led the eye down towards my cleavage.

I raised my eyebrows at her questioningly, but she nodded and held the necklace in place while I took another look in the mirror.

"See, perfect." She clasped the necklace closed, and I nodded.

"Hmm, not bad." I scrubbed up okay. I might think it was a very, very bad idea to get involved with Edward but it didn't mean I didn't want to look good when I saw him.

She ran her fingers through my long chestnut hair. "Want me to curl this for you? We have time."

"Sure." I nodded and sat at my dressing table as Nessie fussed about next to me, plugging in the curlers and pulling up a stool behind me. I'd agreed, more to spend time with her than to end up with curled hair, but I guess it would be a nice touch.

Nessie was wearing an all-in-one trouser and top combination. Romper suit I think they called it these days. I remember when she was a baby and wore baby rompers, the ones that snapped closed all the way up and looked impossibly big when she was firstborn. But now, those garments looked impossibly small. How had she ever fit in something so tiny? I had queried with her how she'd ever make it to the toilet in her outfit, but I had to admit it looked stunning on her. The pants portion lengthened her already long legs and the top was plunging enough to make the outfit fancy while staying classy.

As she styled my hair into soft waves, we chatted about what plans we had for tonight. Hers was to avoid any strippers, and mine was not to fuck her future father-in-law. Although, I told her it was to stay sober to keep the party under control.

Suddenly, it was time to go. I gave myself a final glance in the mirror and smiled for the selfie Nessie was insisting we take, but on the inside, I was a little nervous. I hadn't been inside a club for years, decades even, did they let people my age in? I guess I'd find out.

"Mom, look!" Nessie squealed, interrupting my musing as I joined her to look out the bedroom window.

Outside was a long, black stretch limo blocking half the road with a man in a suit and top hat standing by the door, ready to open it for us.

"Did Jake do this?" I asked my daughter, who was vibrating with excitement next to me.

"I guess so, how sweet!" She scooped up her handbag and gestured for me to do the same before she legged it out of the room at a very fast pace, given the height of her heels.

I smiled; Jake knew how to treat Vanessa well; I couldn't argue with that.

I walked slower in my red heels and pulled my phone from my clutch, knowing Nessie would want pictures of this moment.

After many, many pictures we were off, making two stops to collect more friends who had all congregated at various houses. Vanessa was loving the ride, and I had to admit it was an experience. The girls had great fun starting the evening with champagne and pulling the party poppers that were provided. The mother in me wondered about the person who had to clean up the mess of neon streamers that were now all over the seats, but I rolled my shoulders and tried to relax. I was determined to enjoy Nessie's evening instead of being in mom mode tonight. There would be plenty of time for tension later, when we met up with the boys and I would see Edward for the first time since our kiss.

I sighed at the thought of that kiss. I'm not sure I'd ever been kissed like that, with so much passion and urgency. I didn't expect that from Edward. He seemed so laid back, and most of the time his interactions with Nessie and Jake were relaxed and warm; I'd yet to see him stressed or annoyed. I had seen him topless though, and that image from New Year's Day wouldn't leave my mind as much as I tried. Truth be told, I wasn't actually trying very hard. His strong chest and broad shoulders were just one of many reasons I was worried about managing to keep my distance from him tonight.

"Mom, your turn!" Nessie nudged me and looked at me expectedly.

"Sorry?" I'd lost track of the conversation.

"Best ever kiss?" she asked matter-of-factly.

"Ness! I'm your mom!"

"Duh!" she rolled her eyes at me the way she'd learned to when she was a sassy five-year-old, and the gesture made me smile. "We're all adults here."

I sighed good-naturedly before looking pensive. The answer was obvious, Edward's face swam into my mind. He'd managed to kiss me with his whole body, not just his mouth. He'd reminded me how it felt to be desired and the more I allowed myself to think of him, the more I felt my cheeks redden.

I turned to Nessie. "Your father, of course."

There was a chorus of "awwwws" from Nessie's friends as Nessie herself smiled sadly.

"Mom, that was decades ago. If you haven't topped him yet, we really need to hook you up with someone new."

"I have kissed men since your father, Nessie, just none I wanted to discuss with you."

She looked surprised and clutched her heart in mock annoyance. "Who? I haven't met a boyfriend of yours since Alex, and that was when I was in middle school."

"Baby, I'm not going to introduce you to every guy I meet; there have been others, they just weren't serious enough for you to know about."

"Interesting. We need to talk about that." Nessie joked as the limo pulled to the curb and we gathered our clutches, and in my case, rooting around for my damn uncomfortable shoes, which I'd removed the second I'd gotten into the limo.

Unknown to Vanessa, I'd visited the restaurant earlier in the day to drop off balloons and decorations, which were now adorning our table, and a cake that would be brought out for dessert. We would all enjoy a lovely meal, which the mother in me was pleased about. It meant no-one would be drinking on an empty stomach. Nessie paced herself, knowing there'd be more drinking when they got to the club. I too, paced myself, knowing I'd need all my willpower to keep away from Edward once we met up with the boys.

It hadn't been easy keeping my distance from Edward. I'm sure I could have arranged to meet him, at his place or mine, and things would have happened. But that wouldn't have been a good idea. Would it? Oh, damn. I could feel my conviction wavering tonight, which worried me.

After eating, we all filed back into the limo and I took plenty more pictures of Nessie with her friends. The drive to the club didn't take long but it was long enough for butterflies to rise inside me. I wasn't drinking alcohol tonight, but I was affected by the atmosphere. Love was in the air, and the joviality of the evening was already making me relax. I knew I'd be seeing Edward soon, a dressed up, relaxed, fun Edward. Part of me was dreading it but the bigger part of me was aching to see him.

Once inside the club, Nessie spotted Jake immediately. I watched as they gravitated towards each other like magnets, drawn by some silent force.

Jake wore a shirt, the top few buttons were undone, and the collar was popped up, perhaps in some Gen Z statement that I didn't understand. He looked handsome though, his pants fit him snugly without looking like those god-awful, skinny fit jeans and his hair was gelled up. His eyes bugged out of his head when Nessie approached him, his hands finding her waist and his lips finding hers immediately.

Nessie's friends were also hitting the dance floor, a few of them paired with guys from Jake's group, and the others danced together. I watched for a minute before realizing how out of place I felt here. I knew Edward would be here too and I was desperately hoping he wasn't dancing with a newfound friend.

When I looked away from the dance floor, I spotted Emmett, who sat at a nearby booth with people who looked much more my age. Pleased to have them to visit, I approached the booth and was met by a smiling Emmett who introduced me to his wife, Rosalie, along with his sister and brother-in-law, whose names I didn't even hear above the loud music.

They had a round of drinks on the table and seemed to be enjoying the evening. Emmett spotted me looking around, and when I caught his eye, he nodded over my left shoulder. I turned and looked right into cool green eyes that were appraising me silently from across the room. Edward raised the glass he was carrying back from the bar, smiled a lopsided grin and bit the very edge of his lip as his eyes took in my dress, and more specifically, my legs in this dress.

Christ, just his gaze made me squirm. I tried to look away, but he was too intense. His shirt was unbuttoned more than usual, making him look relaxed and playful, and the closer he got the more my butterflies increased.

I was doomed.

Remember your plan, Bella…

_Don't fuck him…don't fuck him…don't…_

**A/N: The next chapter is Bella's point of view again, then we hear from Edward! **

**Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, PearlyFox, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs, Julie Gotcha Dodge, Star Fitchpatrick, Stephanie Vallejo, for giving up their time to beta, pre-read and make banners for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thanks also to anyone who has read this. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Bella:

_Remember your plan, Bella…don't fuck him…don't fuck him…don't…_

Edward was now making his way through a spattering of people until he reached my side. He was wearing crisp suit pants with a leather belt and a starched white shirt, and as he walked closer, I could see the open buttons revealed a wisp of pale chest hair. My gaze continued down to the V his open shirt made until my eyes snapped to his when he spoke.

"You're a sight for sore eyes." He leaned in close to me, placing his glass on the table before he took a step back. I could smell his aftershave and feel his body heat. Jeez, this was going to be a long night.

He whispered, so close to me that I felt, not just heard his words. "Bella, you look…fucking amazing."

I gulped. That swear word falling from those perfect lips almost crumbled what little resolve I had left.

"Hi," I replied, rather inadequately. I didn't know how to respond to him, so I just silently repeated my mantra. _Don't fuck him, remember, Bella, don't fuck him._

He chuckled, probably at my inadequate words and the redness I could feel spreading across my cheeks, giving away my embarrassment. He knew how much I wanted him, and I didn't know whether that infuriated me or excited me.

I focused on his chest, avoiding eye contact, but that didn't help my rabid thoughts; it made them worse.

Edward cleared this throat, bringing my attention back to his face. He nodded sideways to Jake and Nessie, "I think we've lost them for the night."

I nodded, slightly envious that they could be so affectionate in public, so carefree, while I was using an immense amount of energy to not touch Edward. To not let my knees sag and my chest lean, just lightly, against his. To not let my hand lower and brush his, to not run my hands through my hair and brush his arm with mine on the way.

As we watched the kids on the dance floor, Edward's jaw clenched as if he was in a similar situation as me. His earlier, carefree smiles and twinkling eyes were gone and he looked tense. Huh, maybe it was the pressure of reining in a dozen testosterone-filled boys earlier in the night.

Maybe I could help him relax a little? My stomach rolled as I made eye contact with him. I took a deep breath, grabbed my courage by both hands, and faced Edward. I planted my palms flat on his chest, loving the feel of his strong muscles under his soft cotton shirt.

He kept his hands in his pants pockets as he smiled down at me, raising his eyebrows but remaining silent.

Fuck! He was hot. His eyes were mischievous as he took in my new bold state.

I mustered up some more courage from somewhere, looked directly into his intense eyes, and spoke. "Wanna dance?"

He removed a hand from his pants pocket and used it to rub his jaw with a sigh. "Absolutely…but I don't know if it's a good idea."

I pouted. It might not have been attractive, but fuck, I wanted to dance with him. That crowded dance floor was the perfect place to get lost, just the two of us, I could get close to him without it looking suspicious.

"Dancing is always a good idea," I argued, flexing my fingertips against his chest, aware I was being brazen but unable to get my brain to make my fingers stop, it felt too good.

Edward groaned. He actually groaned, and I felt the vibrations through his chest, felt the effort he was using to look nonchalant and calm.

"When will we get another chance?" I asked.

That did it. He grabbed my elbow and moved us swiftly towards the dance floor so quickly I took a second to register that this was happening. "If my brother sees us, I'm gonna get some shit," he mumbled as I grinned at his mock grumpiness. "And if my son sees us…"

Neither of us needed to mention the repercussions if the kids saw us, that went without saying.

He led us deep into the dance floor, on the other side, away from our party of people, and then spun to face me with an intense look in his eyes.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" He was glaring at me, fighting with himself more than me.

"No." I suddenly wasn't too sure how I ever thought we'd get away with this.

"Me, either." Despite his assertive words, his hands found my waist, his actions completely defying his words as the song ramped up a gear, speeding up in tempo and morphing into a song he clearly knew and liked.

His palms on my waist felt so intimate. I wiggled my hips, and Edward did one of those deep groans again as I threw my hands up, threw my head back and moved to the beat.

As soon as Edward got into the music, I could tell he could dance well. His hands never left my body, but they stayed in relatively safe zones. Anytime I caught his intense eyes, they were full of mischief. Mischief and something else, dare I believe it was lust? Did I want it to be? I knew I wouldn't be strong enough to resist him if he wanted this as much as I did.

I was happy for him to be in control, swaying us different ways at different speeds until I decided to mix things up. I turned around and danced, my back to his front. I could feel the friction of my body against his. I could feel his strong, solid frame moving against mine, and it felt amazing. It had been too long since I'd been this close to any man and I was getting carried away, closing my eyes while I enjoyed every sensation.

His strong hard chest was propping me up, and I was so close to him I could hear his pants and groans that made me wonder if that's how he sounded during sex.

Damn, we were getting far too carried away, but even though I'd internally acknowledged that, it wasn't enough to stop me. Everything felt far too good to stop.

Next, I raised my arms above my head, and his hands joined mine, his fingers threading into mine as my ass found his crotch.

He was bent down, his mouth so close to my ear, I could hear his groan as I made contact.

"Fuck," he breathed out, long and slow in a deep voice as his hands squeezed mine even tighter.

I continued to rub my ass on his crotch, knowing we were crossing all sorts of boundaries here but being unable to care.

"Fuck, Bella. We need to fucking stop."

Not the words I wanted to hear.

I looked up over my shoulder at him, finding his face dark and pained and his expression deadly serious.

I nodded reluctantly and allowed him to lead me off the dance floor, back to the table we'd occupied earlier. Emmett and Rosalie were there, and even I saw the questioning look Emmett gave Edward.

Edward grabbed a glass of water and chugged the whole thing before he excused himself for the bathroom.

"Ed, wait," Emmett called after him. I saw them talking, then looking cross at each other until Emmett shook his head and headed back to join us at the table. Rosalie and I exchanged raised, questioning eyebrows, but Emmett didn't hang around to talk, he nuzzled Rosalie's neck and pulled her onto the dance floor I'd just left.

When Edward returned, he looked less angry as he approached me. "Do you want to get out of here?" He whispered as he leaned dangerously close to me again. I tried not to breathe in his aftershave, but he had to stand close to me and shout in my ear to make himself heard.

I looked up at him, not quite sure how to take his words. He was so close, close enough to see his Adam's apple, close enough to see the slight stubble on his cheeks, close enough to touch. I balled my hands into fists to stop myself reaching up to cup his angled jaw, and Edward took the chance to explain his words.

"I just thought the kids might want to let loose without their parents present."

I nodded. That made sense. I was glad Nessie had included me in her bachelorette party, but now that she was with Jake and his friends, I felt more relaxed about leaving to allow her to do whatever youngsters do these days.

"I don't think I can stomach much more watching them." Edward added with a nod in the direction of his son and my daughter. They were dancing, if I could even call it that, it was more like grinding, or thrusting, or … oh, God, Edward was right.

"Yeah, good call, let's go." I pulled a disgruntled face, and Edward chuckled and looked amused as some of the pained tension from the last few minutes left his face.

I turned and walked to approach Nessie to say goodbye but stopped abruptly, so abruptly that Edward walked into my back with an audible 'oomph.'

I turned slowly, but Edward didn't move, so we were chest to chest as he looked down at me questioningly.

"I came in the limo with the girls," I explained, suddenly aware I had no way of getting home.

"It's fine, I drove. I thought I should have access to a car in case anything happened. I can drop you home."

"Thanks." I nodded and turned back to approach Nessie and Jake, well aware of how dangerous this was. I'd be alone in a car with Edward, both of us knowing the kids were out and occupied.

I stopped my mind heading down that track as Nessie and Jake spotted us. We explained we were going to leave them to have fun and after hugs all around, we left the loud club.

As soon as the cool air hit me, I breathed in large gulps of it. "Thank God. I'm too old for that place."

Edward chuckled and overtook me, leading the way to his car as I followed, my heels clicking, my eyes watching his fine ass as he pressed a button on his keys and his car lights flashed up ahead.

He held the passenger door open, his eyes raking over me as I approached. "You…" he held my gaze pointedly "… you aren't too old for anything," he told me as I sat and he closed the door after me, adding emphasis to his words.

I hadn't been in his car before, but now I could smell his aftershave, see a reusable coffee cup in the center console, and when he sat, see his large hands gripping the steering wheel.

Edward started his car and immediately turned the radio down when it came blasting on. "Straight home?" he asked as I tore my eyes away from his hands, and he checked his mirrors.

"Yeah, where else?"

My stomach tightened as he put his arm around the passenger seat, almost around me, as he looked behind him and expertly reversed the car. When he was out of the tight parking spot, he switched to drive and looked at me before moving the car forward.

"Just checking to see if you had the midnight munchies."

"Oh, no, I'm good, thanks."

"Okay, then." He looked straight ahead and moved us on.

I side-eyed Edward and wished I hadn't. His face looked like thunder. I didn't know If just my presence was annoying him or if I'd taken our dance too far. The truth was, I was fed up with always being a sensible adult. Always playing by the rules. Always doing the right thing. Maybe, for once, I'd forget all about what I should or shouldn't do and I'd let the chips fall where they may.

**A/N: I hope you're enjoying this story and it is a small distraction from this crazy world. Edward's point of view is up next to let you know what they get up to, but while you wait I'd love to hear from you, how do you think this night will go?**

**Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, PearlyFox, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs, Julie Gotcha Dodge, Star Fitchpatrick, Stephanie Vallejo, for giving up their time to beta, pre-read and make banners for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thanks also to anyone who has read this. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Edward's point of view is here, let's see what he's been thinking…**

Edward POV:

I maneuvered my Audi out of the parking lot, gripping the steering wheel and gritting my teeth, anything to stop my hands from wandering. I was desperate to reach across and rest my palm on Bella's thigh. They were right there, so close, just like her body had been on that dance floor.

Damn! Tonight, had really revamped the intensity between us, and I didn't know how much longer I could bite my tongue around her and pretend my feelings for her were platonic. Our kiss had been far from fucking platonic and so had the way she'd been looking at me tonight.

I cleared my throat before clenching my jaw in an effort to stop shooting my mouth off and telling her how desperately I wanted her. Spending the evening with happy, care-free guys was making me angry at the way Bella and I needed to be adults and put our kids first in every single situation.

I felt hot and flustered, so I grabbed at my shirt. I turned the heaters to cool but they still fanned nothing but hot air onto my chest. My knuckles were going white with the effort of keeping my hands gripped on the steering wheel and keeping my thoughts silent.

It was all pointless, though. Nothing was helping and I realized that perhaps this lift home was a bad idea.

A very bad idea.

I'd wanted so desperately to get out of the club. I don't think Bella noticed, but several of Jake's friends were looking like they'd love to go a round or two with a cougar tonight, meaning I'd whisked us out of the club so fast I hadn't thought that being alone with Bella in my car would be almost as torturous as that damn dance.

I groaned at the thought of that dance and then tried desperately to cover it with a cough. Fuck, her little ass was riding on my damn dick, up and down, over and over. I couldn't let myself get hard, but fuck, my dick didn't get that memo, he just wanted out of my pants and into Bella in any way possible. Her doe eyes had been so mischievous. I'm sure she knew what she was doing to me and I'd started to get annoyed that she seemed to be enjoying my predicament.

Emmett hadn't helped my mood either, he seemed to enjoy riling me up just as much as Bella did. When he cornered me on the way to the restroom, it was to joke with me what a MILF Bella was and what a shame it was that I couldn't tap that.

However, he hadn't banked on my thunderous mood, and his face turned from humor to concern when he saw how angry I was.

"_Ed, tell me you're not!" He glared at me. "Christ, bro, you can't fuck your son's mother-in-law!"_

"_I know that, dipshit," I ground out through gritted teeth._

"_You didn't answer me. Are you and Bella…"_

"_No!" Fuck, he was annoying me._

"_Really, you looked pretty damn cozy on that dance floor." His eyebrows were raised, daring me to deny what he was saying._

_I closed my eyes and balled up my fists. Fuck, why did I have to explain this to him? "We danced for like…one song…nothing happened."_

_Emmett scoffed, adding a heavy dose of laughter as he spoke. "Sure." He patted me on the shoulder. "You keep telling yourself that, bro."_

_I pushed his hand away angrily. "What do you want me to do, Emmett? We've both acknowledged me fucking her would be a bad, bad idea, so stop provoking me."_

_Emmett turned serious. "Sorry, I was just winding you up. I didn't realize it was such a touchy subject."_

"_Whatever." I turned away from Emmett, but he grabbed my shoulder and spun me round to face him.  
_

_"We need to talk." He told me as he pulled me so I followed him towards the restrooms but stopped in the entrance to a corridor close by._

_We were alone now and could hear each other without shouting, so Emmett wasted no time in picking up where we left off. "Edward, are you serious about liking her? I can see Bella is your type and you certainly seem to hit it off when I've seen you together."_

_I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. "We…we kissed."_

_Emmett's jaw dropped, and his eyes went wide as he wolf-whistled. "What?"_

"_Yeah. We both acknowledged we shouldn't go any further, and she's basically ignored me since then … until tonight."_

"_Bro, I had no idea you had all this going on." Emmett looked annoyingly sympathetic, which only added to my annoyance._

_I shrugged. "I'm not exactly going to tell everyone how much I want an inappropriate relationship with someone I shouldn't be with."_

"_I know I said earlier you shouldn't be with her, but I didn't know you were actually serious…I was just teasing you. If you genuinely like her, you should talk to Jake; he wants you to find someone and be happy…"_

"_Not with his mother-in-law!" I whisper-shouted. "The wedding is less than two weeks away, none of us can deal with this right now."_

_Emmett held both my shoulders, forcing me to face him and look at him. "I get that you should probably wait until after the wedding to talk to Jake because this situation could get messy, but you deserve to be happy. We all want you to find someone, Edward, it's been a long time since you were happy with anyone."_

_I scoffed. "Thanks for the reminder."_

_Emmett's comments didn't make me feel any better about this situation, and he seemed as confused as me. I went from thinking Bella and I could actually be together, and then remembering us being together would make the kids like...stepsiblings…stepsiblings who are marrying each other. _

_Oh. Damn. _

_I just shrugged at Emmett and left for the restroom, knowing he wouldn't follow me. Perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut and just brushed off his words and replied with some light-hearted joke to throw him off the scent, but I just didn't have the energy. Everything was taking so much effort tonight, and I was using all my energy to keep in control around Bella, I didn't have any left for my brother._

Bella coughed next to me, and I looked over to the passenger side, telling myself to keep my eyes on her face, not on her thighs, or calves or tits, or…_focus Edward_.

When she didn't look at me, I turned back to the road. I rolled my shoulders and made a conscious effort to release the tension in my jaw and my grip on the steering wheel.

"Did you girls have fun before you met up with us?" My best bet now was to attempt small talk with the woman who was giving me blue balls, in the hope of returning us to our usual level of functional tension.

"Yeah." She nodded. "You?"

"Yeah, the guys were pretty well behaved. Who knows what they'll get up to now we've left, but they're adults, right? Gotta leave them to it at some point."

She nodded but didn't speak.

"Do you have plans for tomorrow?" I asked, continuing my plan of small talk.

"Not unless I'm needed on puke patrol for Nessie!" She joked, reminding us both again of the reason we had to keep our hands to ourselves.

Ten more awkward minutes ticked away slowly until I pulled up at Bella's house and put my car in park. She unclipped her seat belt and grabbed her handbag, but before she could speak, I ran my mouth.

"Could I come in and use your bathroom? I had a full glass of water back at the club. I only had one beer but thought it wouldn't hurt to help ward off any hangover, instead I just really need the bathroom." I told her sheepishly.

"Sure," she smiled a friendly smile at me as I turned off the car engine and followed her up her driveway.

I was pretty sure this was also a bad idea, but I really did need the bathroom. Maybe I should have just sat in my car, and once Bella was safely inside, I could drive around the corner to Taco Bell and use their restroom.

Bella unlocked her front door and walked inside, holding the door open for me.

"Are you coming in?"

Her eyes were wide and questioning as I ran my hands through my hair. _Hell, I was here now._

I stepped over the threshold and watched as Bella closed the door, shutting us inside.

"You know where it is." She gestured to the downstairs bathroom as I tried not to stare at her figure in that dress. This was the first time I could see her in the bright light of her hallway, not the dim light of the club, and she really did look stunning.

After a beat too long, I turned, and once inside the bathroom, I leaned back against the closed door. I needed to give myself a pep talk. I needed to remember all the reasons why I should leave Bella's house immediately.

This couldn't happen.

Nothing could happen between us. Remember that, Edward.

_Nothing_.

A few minutes later, I left the bathroom, determined to wish Bella goodnight and leave. Leave her house and leave her neighborhood and leave her here alone because I shouldn't be here.

However, when I came out of the bathroom to say goodbye, I found Bella balancing precariously on one leg, pulling her shoe off as she wavered a little and lost her balance slightly. She leaned against the wall to steady herself as she caught sight of me.

"Damn these heels." She said massaging the arch of her foot as I tried not to groan. Her dress had risen a little where she was rubbing her foot, and something felt intimate about seeing her pull off her shoes here in her house.

She straightened more when she took in my expression. I was trying so desperately to hold my emotions together, but my face must have given away some of my feelings. I hovered by the door, knowing I should leave but not wanting to. Being her in her home with her reminded me of all the things I wanted to know about her. What side of the bed did she sleep on? Was she a night owl or a morning person? Did she wear glasses when she read in bed because if she did…hell, I'd never be able to keep my hands off her.

"Are you mad at me?" Her voice was quiet as she lowered her foot and took small calculated steps towards me.

"Mad?" I realized I may have looked that way, so I tried to school my features into a neutral expression.

"Be honest…you look mad. I know that dance was…intense. I know I got a little too carried away. I'm sorry if you didn't want to dance."

"What? Why would you think that?"

She lowered her head but raised her eyes to look at me, which only made me clench my fists in an effort not to pull her to me.

"You seemed…tense afterward…" she trailed off as I stalked a few steps closer.

"Tense? Tense? Yes, Bella, I was rather…_tense_." My voice came out louder than I intended making Bella flinch a little. "That's what happens when you grind on my dick until I get a hard-on in a club like a fucking teenager."

Her eyes went wide, "I…I thought we were just having some fun."

"You think it's fun to want you so damn much?" I tried to remain calm, but my voice came out tight and strained, a lot like my pants right about now.

She didn't say anything.

"Bella, you're right. I'm mad. I'm fucking mad. You are driving me crazy. Last time I was here, I had the most erotic kiss of my life before you kicked me and my blue balls out, so right now, I need to walk away before the same happens tonight."

"Oh." She looked at the gap in my shirt and licked her lips. I don't think she even knew she'd done it, but it drove me mad. Fuck how I wanted those lips, that mouth, her…

"Edward…"

My eyes snapped back to hers as I balled my hands into fists in an effort not to reach out to her. "Bella, I think I should leave."

She took a step closer to me, and my breath hitched. "What if I don't want you to leave?"

**A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received. I honestly read every single one (many times) and squeal a little when I get a new review. I haven't replied individually to reviews as I figured you'd rather I use my limited time to write the story rather than reply to reviews, but please be assured I very much appreciate them. If you have a specific question/comment that you want a reply to, please PM me and I'll answer that way.**

**Please continue to let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Epov:

"_What if I don't want you to leave?"_

We stood there in awkward silence. Bella looked at me, and I looked back, trying desperately not to fuck this up. I knew I should leave, but every part of me wanted to stay here with her. Every part of me wanted to be selfish and put myself first for once. Every part of me wanted to smile and laugh and sing from the rooftops that I'd finally found a woman who I wanted to be with; a woman who excited me and made me want to be a better person. A woman I could see a future with.

Instead, I was gritting my teeth and trying to work out what the hell to do next.

I watched Bella's shallow breaths; she was affected by this as much as me. Her eyes were pinned on mine as she awaited my response.

I rolled my shoulders in an effort to relax before I spoke, using all my energy to keep my voice calm. "You need to be absolutely sure you mean that."

Bella took a deep breath and stood up straighter. She looked me dead in the eyes as she walked another step closer. There was a new resolve in her body language and a smile tugging at her lips.

I scraped a hand down my face before I met her eyes again. _Where the hell was she going with this?_

She took another step, and my breath hitched. I desperately wanted to reach out and touch her, but I wanted her to initiate this. I couldn't live with myself if we did something she regretted, so I needed to know she wanted this as much as I did.

Her voice was a whisper when she spoke, but I could hear the conviction in her words. "Do you know how much I want to touch you? To undo that damn top button on your shirt. Then the next button. Then the next. I want to see your chest underneath. Sometimes my hands itch to touch your hair…your jaw…your arms…your…"

I would have been thrilled she was thinking of me that way, but I couldn't give in to the grin that was tugging at my lips. The second I thought the same way as Bella would be the same second I pounced on her. I needed to be extra sure before that happened because there would be no going back from this.

"Then do it," I growled out the words. Damn. I was so turned on I knew I'd explode if she didn't touch me soon.

She scoffed. "You know we can't." Her words didn't carry much conviction, especially as her eyes kept dipping to my shirt buttons and my chest.

I shook my head. "You mean, we shouldn't. We _can_. But we shouldn't."

Bella looked crestfallen as she nodded. "We shouldn't."

I smiled at her. I wasn't letting her go that easily. "Do you always follow the rules?"

"The ones involving my child, I do."

I nodded, smiled, and then looked Bella directly in the eyes as I started to undo the top button on my shirt. I delighted in the groan she released as her eyes fixed on my fingers and watched me undo the next one.

"You're so not helping." She groaned. She stepped toward me at the same time I reached for her waist and pulled her flush against me. "This is all your fault," she mumbled jokingly, seconds before my lips finally met hers.

"Uh-ha," I agreed. I was prepared to drop my morals and take the blame for this if it meant my lips could find hers.

Finally.

She melted into me, so much so that I had to practically catch her as her body fell into mine. And I don't know who groaned louder. I held her up, my lips moving against hers, my breath mixing with hers, and my body flush against her.

"I've got you," I whispered in-between heated kisses.

Her hands found my sternum and almost scratched the skin, groaning as she did so. She then pulled my shirt apart, not caring now whether the buttons were undone or not as our lust took over. I moaned at the feeling of her hands on my chest as I walked her to the nearest wall where I could grind against her while she buried her hands in my hair, pulling my face impossibly closer to hers.

"Fuck. Fuck, Fuck, Edward," she breathed out as we broke apart, desperate for breath.

"Bella, you have no idea how much I want you." My voice was pained, my fingers digging into the skin of her hips as I tried to control myself.

"Edward, I've tried to avoid you … tried not to want you … we shouldn't … "

"We should. We really,_ really_ should." My gravelly tone and eagerness were met with her loud groan as we tumbled to the stairs, and I knew this was our make or break moment. She was going to stop me here or we'd continue this upstairs; either way, it had to be her decision.

She looked at my chest, looked me in the eyes, then sighed. "Fuck it. We've already crossed the line, might as well go all the way to hell."

"Or heaven." I kissed her again, emphasizing my point as she groaned.

In less than thirty seconds, we were in Bella's room.

I didn't have space in my brain to take in the decor, I didn't give a damn about anything except getting closer to her.

She fell backward onto her bed, pulling me down with her until I was hovering above her body. My lips found hers again as I fumbled blindly for a zipper or button, any way of getting her dress removed.

Thankfully I found the zipper, and I'd slipped the dress off before I made a conscious effort to step back and look at her. I'd dreamt about seeing her in her underwear, fantasized about it more times than I should have.

I took in the sight of her, slight and petite, but I didn't get a long look as she pulled me back down closer and set about undoing my remaining shirt buttons, one at a time, kissing the newly exposed skin as she went. I stretched my neck up and closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation, and then enjoying it, even more, when she kissed my neck, my jaw, my sternum. That was until she fumbled with a button, cursing at its obstinance before she gripped the two sides of my shirt and pulled. Buttons flew off in all directions as her hands clawed at my newly exposed chest. "Damn. Damn. Damn. I've wanted to do this for so long…"

She was frantic as she explored my body, her fingers covering every inch of skin in desperate movements. Her eyes were fixed on my chest too, now that she finally had permission to look. A few seconds later, her hands lowered, and I felt her unbuckle my belt and push down my pants. That's when I took over again.

It didn't take more than a minute to fully remove each other's clothes and settle next to each other.

"I want you, just like this," I told her. Missionary was fine with me when it meant I got such a good view of her, and I could control our pace.

She leaned over to her bedside table. She pulled a drawer open and tossed a foil packet my way before she shut the drawer, and her gaze hovered on a photo of her and Nessie. It looked recent, they were beaming at the camera and each holding a large stick of candy floss. Bella hesitated, then picked up the frame and placed it face down on the bedside cabinet.

I watched as she turned back to me, hoping the reminder of our situation wouldn't stop us now.

She stared at my heaving chest, running her fingers over my skin, over my pecs, and further down.

I picked up the condom and looked back at Bella.

"What are you waiting for?" she whispered as I grinned at her and slipped it on.

Her hands gripped my biceps as I entered her, and her grip got tighter as I rocked back and forth, trying unsuccessfully to hide my groans.

"So good," she breathed out as I grinned and picked up my pace.

It was obvious it wouldn't take either of us long; this union had been building for weeks, and not knowing if this would ever happen again made things more urgent. I wanted to savor every second, I wanted her to want me, and I wanted to impress her. But once I was inside her, I couldn't think straight.

"Bella…" I groaned. I lowered my head, making our foreheads touch as our lips nuzzled softly together as I kept up my pace.

"Edward, yes…please."

Hearing her whisper my name so softly, in such an intimate situation, was all it took to throw me over the edge, thrusting and groaning as I heard Bella fall beneath me.

"Damn," I groaned a few seconds later, falling onto the empty side of the bed. Bella grappled at the blankets to cover herself as I tried to calm my breathing and take in what we'd done.

"Damn indeed. Reality is so much better than my imagination," Bella moaned as my eyes went wide.

"You've imagined that?" I didn't dare to dream that she'd been thinking of us doing that for weeks.

"Errr, yeah!" She laughed, turning on her side to face me. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were alive with lust and mischief, and her face was so close to mine, I couldn't resist leaning forward and dropping another kiss on her lips.

It was hard to believe what we'd just done, and that Bella was lying naked next to me. I reached across and ran a strand of her hair through my fingers. "But I was really hoping that it would be awful," she said, a laugh still evident in her voice.

I paused from stroking her hair and gave her a quizzical look.

"I just mean, if it was bad, we'd never want to do it again and that would solve _a lot_ of problems."

I chuckled at her logic. "Oh. I see."

"No such luck," she answered good-naturedly, scooting her body closer to mine.

"Well, maybe we need to do it again, you know, just to check?"

She slapped my chest as she laughed. "Hmmm, I think I could get on board with your logic." Her lips found mine, and I realized we were in for a long night.

**A/N: Thoughts? Are you pleased? What will they do next…**

**Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Gabby1017, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received. I honestly read every single one (many times) and squeal a little when I get a new review. I haven't replied individually to reviews as I figured you'd rather I use my limited time to write the story rather than reply to reviews, but please be assured I very much appreciate them. If you have a specific question/comment that you want a reply to, please PM me and I'll answer that way.**

**Please do let me know what you think, your reviews really encourage me to continue.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Edward's point of view again, the morning after the night before…**

The next morning, I was woken by a sudden dip in the bed. It was such a foreign feeling, and I was instantly awake. It brought me back to the times when a sleepy, pajama-clad Jacob would jump on my bed at 5 am, ready to start the day, unlike me.

This time though, it was Bella, her hair smoothed down, and a smile plastered on her face.

"Morning." She was biting her lip nervously, and it was adorable. She was wearing my white shirt, the one she'd ripped some of the buttons off and thrown on the floor a few hours ago. I was having trouble believing she was really here as she leaned forward, settling next to me.

"Morning." My voice sounded gruff as I sat up and leaned back against the pillow, noticing how Bella's eyes rested on my bare chest. I wasn't exactly expecting to spend the night here, so I'd slept in only my boxers last night. Judging by the look on Bella's face, she didn't seem to mind too much, though.

I was praying she wouldn't regret last night, but the longer she looked at me, the more confident I was that it wasn't what was happening here. She seemed relaxed as she handed me a mug of coffee, and I thanked her at the welcomed sight. After a quick trip to the bathroom, I climbed back into bed and turned to her.

"So…do we need to talk about this?" I ventured quietly, moaning as I sipped my hot coffee, then smiling as Bella heard my moan and caught my eye. "Or…" I raised my eyebrows playfully at her, "…are you going to go back to ignoring me and pretending I don't exist?"

"I wasn't…" she started to protest before she bit her lip and looked at me sheepishly. "I just…I couldn't deal with seeing you and not knowing where we stood with each other. Not after that kiss."

I nodded. I'd guessed that was why she'd dodged all my attempts at banter when we messaged, and she'd avoided places she knew I'd be. I took a deep breath, worried about even asking the following question. "And now?"

"Nothing's changed, Edward."

Bella looked serious as she sent my heart sinking so fast, I felt dizzy. There was no way I could sit here, in her bed, looking at her in my shirt and be expected to return to being just friends or whatever the hell we even were before last night.

Before I could tell Bella any of this, she continued. "We still shouldn't do this. We_ really_ shouldn't do this…but I still want to. Very much."

I grinned widely at her before I set my mug on the bedside table and turned back to her. I cupped her face in my hands, hoping she'd read the sincerity in my face and voice. "Bella, I think we have something really special here. Nothing about this is ideal, but I want to explore what we have because, Christ, I want to be with you so badly."

Bella smiled and nodded. "I want to be with you too. I wasn't avoiding you because I didn't like you, I was avoiding you because I like you too much…too much for our situation."

"Bella, we deserve to be happy. I can't go back to wanting you but keeping my distance. That was torture and now … " I scoffed and gestured to my shirt that was firmly on her back, and the bed we were both occupying. "Now, I can't imagine how we can possibly ignore these feelings."

Bella looked intensely at me, clearly trying to weigh my words before she again spoke. "You know I woke about an hour ago. I didn't sleep very well. I'm not used to sharing my bed, and any time I remembered you were here and what we did…I couldn't sleep. I'm struggling here."

I reached out and held her hand. I could see anguish etched on her face and heard it in her voice. "I know, me too. I don't want to lie to Jacob or Vanessa, and I certainly don't want to do anything that might hurt them, either of them, but damn it, Bella, I just want us to try. I want us to see what we have here."

"Me too." She grinned as I looked up at her expectantly.

"Really?"

She nodded, grinning almost as much as me, which made me unable to resist leaning forward to drop a kiss on her lips.

"I was so worried you wouldn't want to do this." Relief flooded my body as I stroked a thumb over her cheek.

"Of course, I want to do this, Edward. I know we deserve to be happy too, but I still have reservations. I don't want the kids to know yet." Bella spoke quickly and with certainty. This seemed like a deal-breaker to her.

I felt the same way. "Agreed." I nodded. It was too early to tell them about us and too close to their wedding to risk a bad reaction from them.

She smiled and settled her head on my chest. Her fingers rubbed gently at my bare skin as I spoke.

"We're going to be together a lot now for the wedding preparations and the day itself. I know it won't be easy to hide this, but I think it's for the best."

"Agreed." She echoed my previous words.

"I don't want to lie to the kids, but I would never usually introduce Vanessa to a guy I'd only just started…" she paused and looked confused. "…dating?"

I laughed. "That does sound a bit…youthful, but I guess, yeah, we're dating."

"Secretly," Bella confirmed.

"Secretly." That thought both thrilled and terrified me.

"I'm the same," I told her. "I would never introduce Jacob to anyone I'd only just started seeing. I know he's grown up now, but it makes sense for us to see where this goes before we involve our kids."

I wanted Bella to know it wasn't just the fact that our kids were together that was holding me back from telling Jacob, I wouldn't tell him this early in any relationship in any situation. Despite the depth of my feelings, the reality was we'd kissed once and spent one night together…this wasn't yet a long-term partnership I would tell my son about.

Bella nodded and looked relieved. I knew she was wrestling with the morality of our situation, but I also knew she felt this spark between us.

"So…we're doing this?" I was well aware I sounded like a giddy teenager, overly eager, and unable to calm my astonishment.

"I mean, at the moment, we're not related, so we're not doing anything wrong, right?" She sounded adorably shy as she looked up at me from under her long lashes.

"Right." I agreed, wondering if the kids getting married would make us related in a way that made this seem wrong. I shook that thought from my head. "Let's take this one day at a time. Let's enjoy our time until the wedding and then…" I gulped, and Bella nodded, leaning forward for a kiss, stopping me from finishing that sentence.

"Bella, nothing about this feels wrong. It all feels incredibly right," I told her sincerely.

"Right," she echoed as she rested her head on my chest, her fingertips stroking my bare skin. "It feels incredibly right and just plain incredible," she whispered, her breath tickling my chest as she kissed it softly.

I grinned even though she couldn't see me; my fingers threading through her hair in a smooth motion as I relaxed back into the bed.

"Damn, this feels so good." It wasn't just that I hadn't done this with a partner in years, it was that I was now doing it with Bella, someone I was developing real feelings for.

I spent the rest of the day at Bella's house. Now that we finally admitted how we felt we couldn't get enough of each other.

She assured me Nessie had messaged, and she and Jake were home safely, but neither were fit to leave their house, so there would be no surprise drop-ins. I'd booked today off Masen's, knowing I'd likely be hiding my sorrows after I saw Bella dancing at the bachelor party with some other chump who wasn't me. I much preferred the reality of last night, and my day off meant I could stay at Bella's most of the day.

We got up and dressed and shared a cinnamon roll breakfast before staying at the table long after we'd finished eating, talking, and getting to know each other better.

Then, when we'd spent far too long, not touching, we cuddled on the sofa, making me feel like a teenager once again. Bella had her legs hooked over mine, and I was stroking her smooth, soft skin, relishing the fact that I was here with her. When we finished our drinks, she reluctantly moved to take our empty glasses to the kitchen.

When she was out of the room, my cell rang, and I picked it up to see Jacob's name flash. I immediately felt guilty. I looked down the hallway, but I couldn't see Bella approaching, so I answered the call, trying to sound casual.

"Hi, Son."

"Dad. How're things?"

"Oh. Good. I'm enjoying my Sunday off from work. You?"

There, that wasn't so bad. I hadn't lied, and I'd managed to turn the conversation around to focus on him, not me.

"Okay. Nessie and I are having a nightmare with the seating plans, though…"

"Here's your drink…" Bella walked into the room as I put my finger to my lips to silence her. She clamped a hand over her mouth, probably guessing who was on the phone. I closed my eyes in desperation. Shit! Jake must have heard that.

"Dad, have you got company?" Jake sounded happy, teasing even, which was a lot better than the madness I suspected I'd be met with if he knew the truthful answer to that question.

"What? Must be background noise, I'm not at home, I'm out." I closed my eyes and hoped my vaguely truthful answer would suffice. I couldn't meet Bella's gaze as I sunk further down into the sofa.

"Oh." He didn't sound convinced. "Sure. Okay. Well, Ness and I are trying to finalize the seating plan, and we're wondering if you were planning on bringing a plus one to the wedding?"

I coughed, not expecting that question. I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand and stumbled over my words. "Um, no. No, Jake, I won't be bringing anyone as my plus one."

I looked up to meet Bella's surprised expression. She smiled shyly at me as I grinned back, missing Jake's next words.

"… sure, Dad, you can if you want to …"

"No. Jake, honestly. I want to enjoy the day, not bring someone you've never met your wedding."

Jake paused. "Okay. I just wanted you to know you can bring someone, you know if you've met anyone new recently…"

I frowned. "What? Why would you say that?" My paranoia had me questioning him instead of brushing off his words. Unfortunately, I might need to get better at being secretive.

"Just something Uncle Emmett said, he hinted you'd met someone and…"

"And what?"

Jacob sounded embarrassed rather than teasing when he spoke: "…you seemed really happy last night like you were hoping to see someone…"

Oh Jesus! "Really? Kid, I was just pleased no one had ended up in a foreign country or an emergency room on my watch, Bachelor parties can get out of hand, you know." I tried to make light of Jake's words and make a mental note to speak to my brother asap.

"Okay. Well, Nessie needs to check with Bella, but if she isn't bringing anyone, we might sit the two of you together if that's all right with you. You'll both be on the top table, and it'll even up the numbers nicely."

I smiled. "Sure," Bella sat next to me, and I rested my hand on her thigh. "Sure, if Bella's free, I'll pair up with her." She rolled her eyes playfully as she grinned at me. "Get Nessie to check with her first, though, yeah?"

Bella swatted my bicep, but there was no way I was having this awkward conversation with my son, and she was avoiding the same conversation with her daughter. I was hoping Nessie would call her soon, and I'd get to witness her squirming a little.

"Well, if you're sure, Dad. I'd be happy for you to bring someone."

I shook my head even though he couldn't see me. "I'm not bringing someone just to save face. I'm more than happy to sit with Bella." I turned back to Bella, who gave me a tight smile, just as her own phone rang.

She showed me that it was Nessie who was phoning her, and we could both guess why. She raced into the kitchen as I tried not to laugh, knowing the conversation she was about to have.

**A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Gabby1017, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received. I honestly read every single one (many times) and squeal a little when I get a new review. I haven't replied individually to reviews as I figured you'd rather I use my limited time to write the story rather than reply to reviews, but please be assured I very much appreciate them. If you have a specific question/comment that you want a reply to, please PM me and I'll answer that way.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Edward:

I knew Emmett would be full of questions when I returned to work the next day. He was whistling to himself in the kitchen, preparing today's meat joints for the oven when I arrived and greeted him.

"Edward, how's things?"

I scoffed as he laughed. He was grinning at me, his eyebrows raised, and we both knew he was referring to the last time I saw him at the bachelor party.

"Good. You?" I tried to stay casual and fob him off, but he wasn't fooled.

He pulled a dishcloth off his broad shoulder, dried his hands on it, then pulled some herbs from a nearby basket and started to finely chop them, not even bothering to pause while he looked up at me and spoke.

"So, how did the rest of your evening go the other night? I had the pleasure of watching your son practically hump his fiancé on the dance floor. You and Bella left at the right time. Together, I noticed."

I ran my hand through my hair, trying to buy myself some time before I answered. Should I tell him the truth? I didn't want to lie to my own brother, but I couldn't stand his judgment. I'd made peace with my decision to carry on a relationship with Bella despite our circumstances; I didn't need any negativity from him rocking my already shaky convictions.

"She'd arrived in the limo, so she needed to get home somehow."

"What a hero you are!" Emmett joked sarcastically. "It's not like cabs are swarming that club all night, every night."

Emmett raised an eyebrow at me as he carried on chopping, and I really hoped he wasn't about to lose a finger. His experience won out as he stopped just before the knife met his flesh, and he scraped the herbs from the chopping board into the pan on the stove.

I shrugged. " I'm a gentleman. We were both ready to leave; I had a car, she didn't so…"

"So, you dropped her off and drove straight home?" Emmett stirred the contents of the pan, and my stomach rumbled, it smelled so amazing.

"Not exactly."

Emmett's head spun around so fast I would have laughed if I wasn't worried about what he'd say.

"I knew it! You two did it, didn't you? You were all over each at the club! There's no way you could keep it in your pants after that dance…"

"Emmett!" I wiped my palms on my thighs; I was getting flustered, not knowing how Emmett would react when he knew the truth.

He seemed to read my serious expression as he dropped the grin from his face. "Ed, what happened?" He turned the burner off and dried his hands again before he approached me, resting a palm on my shoulder as he tried to make eye contact with me. "I was joking, kinda. I haven't seen you like that with a woman in…hell, years…decades maybe."

"Fuck, that makes me feel old!" I tried to joke. Emmett guided me out of the kitchen and gestured for me to sit opposite him at one of the booths. We weren't opening for a few hours yet, which was good as waiting tables was the last thing on my mind right now.

He looked at me expectantly, and I could tell his demeanor had changed, he was more serious now, and I knew this was my chance. If I lied now, he'd be yet another person I'd have to continue lying to, and I didn't want that. Keeping my relationship a secret from my own son was going to be hard, I didn't need the stress of hiding it from my brother too. Besides, I wanted to talk to him. I had finally found someone I wanted to date, and I wanted to tell the world how happy I was, but I couldn't, so maybe I could tell him instead.

"We…" I coughed and tried again. "Bella and I, we like each other…" Emmett smiled encouragingly, and in a move that probably surprised both of us, he kept quiet and let me continue. "We want to date each other, but this is clearly a tricky situation." Emmett nodded, and I was impressed by the restraint he was showing as he continued to listen rather than offer up his opinion. "We don't want the kids to know; it's too early to tell them and too close to their wedding."

I stopped, desperate to know what he was thinking, but he didn't speak.

"Go on," I encouraged. "Tell me how fucked up this is. Tell me how we shouldn't be together. You can't say anything I haven't thought of myself." I sat back and crossed my arms defensively as I waited for his judgment.

"Edward, I haven't seen you this happy in years. When you're with Bella, you laugh in a way I'd forgotten you ever did. The way you look at her and the way she looks at you…I think you need to see where this goes."

"Really?" I was amazed and surprised by his words.

"Yeah. I get not involving the kids. You wouldn't exactly introduce Jake to a girlfriend after only a few dates anyway, so I don't think you're being deceptive, just cautious."

I grinned when I heard Bella being referred to as my girlfriend. It felt weird. And right.

"You're grinning again," Emmett pointed out as I laughed.

"I just… I'm glad you don't think this is weird."

"Not weird." Emmett shook his head. "Unconventional, maybe but not too weird."

"Hmmm, I'm not sure everyone else will agree. We don't want anyone to know, Em. Please, I don't want you to tell Mom or Dad, and obviously not Seth, he and Jake are so close…"

"Relax, Ed. I won't tell Mom or Dad or my son, but, well, they might guess. Not Seth, he's too interested in computer games to notice what his uncle is up to, but Mom and Dad…they aren't blind. If they see you and Bella together…"

"Which they won't until the wedding when their attention will be on Jacob. Besides, Jake and Nessie haven't noticed anything."

"No, because they only have eyes for each other and are insanely busy planning their wedding. Anyway, I'm pleased for you, bro. I want you to be happy…and finally get laid!"

I laughed at him. I might have decided to tell him about Bella and me, but he didn't need all the details. "I'm saying nothing," I told him with a grin that probably told him everything. I stood and nested my chair under the table as Emmett did the same.

"Emmett…thanks," I told him sheepishly as I clapped him on the shoulder.

"Ed, you know I've always got your back." He told me, walking away, so I didn't have to respond.

ooooooOOOOOOOoooooo

Bella's pov:

My evening with Edward had been amazing. I'd forgotten how good it felt to be with someone and not just anyone, but someone I care about, a little more than I should. I felt stupid for trying to avoid him recently but pleased I'd rectified that so spectacularly.

Once Edward left on Sunday, I set about making up for some of the time I missed with Nessie when I'd been avoiding Edward. We had a girly shopping day looking for my mother-of-the-bride outfit. We tried a few different shops and boutiques, but as soon as I saw a navy blue, off-the-shoulder, slim fit floral dress, I knew it was the one. Nessie enthusiastically agreed and even found me the perfect shoes to match.

A few hundred dollars lighter, we were seated at Chili's for a late lunch. Nessie filled me in on the latest wedding plans and told me Jake's groomsmen had a suit fitting today.

I knew this included Edward, as he was Jake's best man. I let my mind wander a little when I thought of Edward in a fitted tux. I snapped back to reality when I realized not only would I get to see that, but we'd have to act calm and collected around everyone … especially Emmett, as I supposed he was suspicious of mine and Edward's relationship. I made a mental note to ask Edward what Emmett knew.

I had to calm down my smiles when I thought of Edward in his fitted tux, especially as I was sitting with Nessie. She was chatting away about her flowers matching the bridesmaid dresses and the plans they had made for the rehearsal dinner. The Manor House had several rooms for guests to reserve, which Jake and Nessie did when they booked the wedding. The plan was for us to arrive at the Manor House the day before the wedding. Nessie and I would stay in one room, with Edward and Jake in another, so the kids didn't see each other the night before, or the morning of the wedding. That would then leave me with a room and Edward with his own room for the night of the wedding as the kids would then have the honeymoon suite for a night before going on the vacation Edward and I had booked for them. They didn't yet know about the honeymoon, but we had already talked of arranging an evening next week when we'd tell them.

The rehearsal meal was arranged for the day before the wedding when many of the out-of-town guests would be arriving.

"Mom…" Nessie drew me out of my thoughts as the waitress scooped up our empty glasses and placed refills in their place.

"Thank you," I told the young girl before turning back to Nessie. "Sorry, Sweetheart, I was just thinking about the wedding. Now it's all getting so real!"

"I know!" Nessie sipped her fresh drink almost vibrating with energy; god knows what she'd be like on the actual day! "Mom, there's something I've been thinking about." She paused, stirring her drink with the straw as she waited for my full attention before she continued. "I want you to walk me down the aisle."

I wasn't expecting that. "Nessie, wow!"

"I don't have Dad here. You've been a mom and dad to me, and I know I could walk on my own, but I want to have you with me."

"Of course, I'd be honored, Ness." It crossed my mind that if Edward was standing by the celebrant with Jacob, and I was walking down the aisle with Nessie, I'd be walking towards Edward, and that was a thought I couldn't dwell on right now.

I was thrilled Nessie wanted me by her side on her big day, that was the emotion I wanted to focus on, not how Edward would look in his tux. I had time to dwell on that later when I was alone and in bed.

I reached across the table and squeezed Nessie's hand as she squeezed back and started talking in such a rush, she reminded me of her younger self; always in a hurry to garble out her thoughts. "So, I'll stay with you the night before, then, the morning of the wedding we'll have the hairdresser, makeup artist, and bridesmaids, we can all set up in your room, right? We can have a carpet picnic for lunch; I can't risk leaving the room and seeing Jake! Can you imagine! Oh, Mom, I'm so excited."

"I can tell!" I joked with her.

I looked up at her radiant face; she was grinning from ear to ear as she carried on talking about plans to collect relatives from the airport, and the amazing, basement swimming pool at the venue that meant I absolutely had to pack my bathing suit. The thought of seeing Edward in board shorts, his broad shoulders flexing, and his chest bare as he swam laps made me squirm a little in my seat, and I had to re-focus on Nessie.

She was in such a happy mood. I didn't want to circle back to how her Dad wouldn't be at her wedding. I didn't want to bring the mood down, but I suspected it was a conversation we needed to have because I didn't want the reality of that situation to hit her on the actual day.

"Nessie, Sweetheart, I'm sorry your dad will be missing from the wedding. I know you never knew him very well, but rest assured he loved you, and he'd be proud of you."

Nessie swallowed her mouthful of chicken fajita and looked up at me, her eyes looking sad and her smile a little forced.

"I know, Mom. I never really missed having a dad until I met Jacob and saw what it was like to have one who cares."

She shrugged, and I tried not to overreact to her mention of Edward. Instead, I just nodded. "Edward's a great dad, Ness."

"Yeah," she nodded enthusiastically as she assembled another fajita with the mix of ingredients the server had left on our table. "I feel like I'm gaining a husband and a father figure, too."

"That's a great way of looking at things, Ness." Somehow, I managed to speak before forcing my food down past the lump in my throat. If Edward and I fucked this up, Nessie could lose Edward as the only father figure she's ever had.

Half an hour later, I was paying our tab and hugging Nessie goodbye. I was developing a headache and overthinking things. Every time Nessie mentioned Edward, I remembered him, bare-chested in my bed, not as Jacob's dad and not as my daughter's future father-in-law.

I drove home in no rush to return to my empty house. As I walked through the door and kicked off my shoes, my cell rang, and I discarded my handbag and settled in my comfy armchair when I saw the caller ID.

"Hey, girl!" I'd mentioned Edward to my bestie, Angela, but not told her about our more recent developments. I knew I could trust her and knew she would keep our secret.

She wasn't one for small talk though, so she dove right in with the juicy questions. "So, how are things with you and Edward, are you still avoiding him?"

I scoffed, rubbing the soles of my feet. I used to be able to wear heels for hours on end, but I swear my feet ached more every time I wore them.

"Bella?' She prompted when I was quiet for too long.

I cleared my throat. "Let's just say it's hard to avoid someone when they're in your bed."

"What?" Angela screeched, clearly surprised by my words.

"Yeah. That happened."

She fumbled, starting and stopping her sentence a few times. "You…you…wow! I knew you liked him, but I didn't think you'd actually go there."

"Neither did I!" I confessed as I pulled a blanket off the back of the chair and settled under it. "Angie, we're going for it. We're going to see where this goes."

"Good for you, girl." I smiled pleased for my best friend's support rather than judgment. "I'm pleased for you."

"Thanks"

"So, when do I get to meet him?"

I groaned. "One step at a time; we have to get through our kids' wedding first."

She laughed. "Hah! Good luck with that!" Angela laughed as I groaned, wondering how on earth Edward and I would get through the big day without revealing our relationship to anyone.

**A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received. I honestly read every single one (many times) and squeal a little when I get a new review. I haven't replied individually to reviews as I figured you'd rather I use my limited time to write the story rather than reply to reviews but please be assured I very much appreciate them. If you have a specific question/comment that you want a reply to, please PM me and I'll answer that way.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Edward:

The doorbell ringing made my jaw tense; damn, why was I so nervous to see Bella? I felt like I was sixteen again and dating for the first time. I raced down the stairs, pausing in the hallway mirror to try and fix my hair before I gave up on that idea. Nothing could fix that mess.

I swung my front door open, thrilled to see her standing on my doorstep. She had on a knitted, knee-length dress, coordinating brown tights and ankle boots. Damn, she looked amazing.

The wedding was only a week away, and we'd invited the kids over to my place to tell them about the surprise honeymoon we'd booked for them. It was now ten AM, and the kids weren't due until midday, so even though the logical side of my brain knew neither my son nor Bella's daughter would be lurking in the trees outside my house, I still scanned the premises and pulled Bella inside quickly.

"Hi," I greeted her, sounding out of breath. Damn, I really needed to up my game.

"Hi." She replied as I edged closer. I didn't want to pounce on her the second I saw her, but I wanted to kiss her so badly, to hold her hips and pull her closer, to stroke her soft hair and remember her smell.

We'd met up several times since the evening we got together. Some of those times, we managed to talk, but we may have spent some time naked as we got to know each other a lot better. As much as I wanted that to happen this time, I didn't think it would be a good idea to risk anything with the impending visit of our kids.

"I'm so glad you came early." I planted a kiss on Bella's lips as her arms wrapped around my shoulders, and she stretched upwards to meet my lips.

"Me too."

I lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around my waist, my hands finding her ass and supporting her there. I felt twenty years younger as I walked to the nearest wall, pinned her there, and kissed her like it was our first time all over again.

When we finally came up for air, I set her feet back on the floor, and she followed me into my kitchen.

"I never did give you that tour when you were here for the New Year."

"True, do we have time now?"

Five minutes later, we were walking hand in hand out my back door as I showed her the area surrounding my house. I was confident we wouldn't bump into anyone out here and certainly not anyone who would know, or care, about the situation we had going on with our kids and us.

As we walked, I pointed out the trail I took when I ran, and Bella said she'd like to come running with me sometime soon. It was such a change to have someone to do those things with, never having anyone to share this place with before. That thought made me appreciate having Bella by my side.

By the time we got back inside, we only had half an hour before Jake and Nessie were due, so Bella helped me fix lunch. We peeled potatoes, seasoned meat, and snuck a few kisses as we listened to calming jazz and cooked, acting like we'd done this a hundred times before. I was so relaxed next to her as we moved around the kitchen in harmony. I felt like a family, waiting for our kids to turn up, except our kids were getting married…to each other.

Jacob and Vanessa pulled up on time, for once, and it only took about five minutes for Jacob to stick his head in the fridge, asking what there was to eat.

I swatted him away and told him to wait for lunch. Vanessa and Bella were chatting wedding talk at the table, and I loved how her face lit up when she was with her daughter. Anyone could see the bond they had. That sobering thought made me suck in a deep breath and remember what we were both risking, given what she and I were doing behind her daughter's back.

I shook that thought from my mind as I started to serve the meatloaf and vegetables Bella and I prepared together. Bella sat next to me with the kids opposite, and I couldn't resist resting a hand on her thigh … under the table and out of view of the kids.

She jumped a little in surprise as she raised her eyebrows at me, grinned, and turned away quickly before our interaction could be noticed.

"Dad, this food is amazing, are you sure Uncle Emmett didn't make it?" Jake teased.

"No, Jacob. Bella, here is my witness; this was made by my own fair hands." At that comment, Bella looked down at my hands. I knew she found them attractive but couldn't exactly show that right now.

"Jacob, your dad's an amazing cook," Nessie spoke up in my defense. "No offense, Mom…" she went on with a sheepish look in Bella's direction, "…but I didn't exactly grow up with a family of such good cooks."

Bella scoffed. "You mean Grandad Charlie's fish fry washed down with a can of ginger beer wasn't appetizing?"

Vanessa laughed. 'God, Mom! Remember that fish fry? It was rank!"

I laughed, more at the face Vanessa was pulling than her words and heard Bella chuckling next to me.

When we'd finished dinner and cleared the table, Bella excused herself to the bathroom, and a few minutes later, I stood, telling the kids I needed to start the laundry, and I'd be back soon. Instead, I waited until Bella was out of the bathroom and pulled her around the corner into the laundry room.

She squealed, but I used my lips to silence her. She gave as good as she got, and soon she was sitting on the worktop, with me standing between her spread legs, my hands gripping her hips.

"Edward!" She playfully pushed me away, but her hands stayed on my chest, making me smile widely at her.

"I know, I know! I'll go back to the kids, I just…" I ran my hands through my hair "…I really like having you here. You and the kids, it feels right, you know?"

Bella nodded. "I agree, but I doubt the kids would think that way if they knew what we were doing." She flexed her fingers on my chest for added emphasis, and I nodded reluctantly.

"Okay, but when they leave ... you're all mine!"

She laughed. "No argument from me." She leaned forward for another kiss before I stood back, and she hopped down. She straightened her dress and ran a thumb over my lips, wiping off any lipstick she left there.

"You go first," I told her, not quite believing the way I was sneaking around my own home.

She nodded, squeezed my hand, and left. I used my time to start the laundry, and when I returned, Bella was sitting at the table, listening to Nessie talk about their choice of song for their first dance.

"Ed Sheeran? Really?" I teased as I picked up on their conversation and took my chance to rib my son. Bella smiled at me as I sat, such a genuine and loving smile that I had to check Jake hadn't seen. It felt amazing to have someone look at me that way.

"It's a _perfect _choice!" Bella grinned, elbowing me as she managed to make a pun using the song title.

I groaned at her lame joke before I turned to Jacob. "You're missing the chance to have a classic song played at your wedding."

"Such as? What would you have as your first dance, Dad?"

I instinctively looked at Bella before realizing my mistake and turning away and shrugging.

"I'm not about to get married, Jake, you are."

"Obviously!" Jacob rolled his eyes, but he didn't drop the subject. "Go on, old man, you can't critique our choice without having one of your own."

"Okay,' I agreed with a nod. I wrung my hands together as I thought. "A first dance would be something personal to the couple, but if you're putting me on the spot…Amazed by Lonestar."

"Who?"

I laughed. "Boy, I did some things right with you, many things I like to think, but I guess I didn't give you a very good musical background."

Jacob fished his phone out of his pocket, and within a few seconds, the song I had named was playing aloud for us all to hear.

Again I turned to Bella, my hands finding hers under the table. She squeezed my fingers as she spoke. "I love this song too."

"Ugh! No!" Nessie was shaking her head and swiping Jake's phone from his hands. "It's so mushy."

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd pick such a mushy song, Dad. You must be turning romantic in your old age. Speaking of which…" Jacob suddenly looked serious as he leaned forward. "Dad, you look so happy and relaxed lately, what's changed?"

I faked confusion and shrugged my shoulders as I felt Bella clench my hand tighter. "Nothing. Maybe it's you who's now 'mushy,'" I asked as Jacob shook his head. "Although …" I continued, desperate not to give Jake a chance to answer. "I might be about to get a little mushy now because Bella and I have something to tell you, both of you, it's the reason we invited you over today."

I looked at Bella and raised my eyebrows in a silent question. She nodded, and we turned to the kids.

For a second, I imagined telling them about our relationship. _Nessie, I'm falling for your mom. Jake, I've met someone amazing. She makes me so happy I can't think straight when I'm around her. I want you to be happy for me. I'm sorry she's going to be your mother in law but… _

I shook my head and glanced sideways at Bella. She trusted me, and I couldn't do that without her consent. She was looking at me with wide beautiful eyes, waiting for me to continue, so I turned back to Jake and Nessie.

"So…" I started, clapping my hands together and grinning. "We know you want to pay for this wedding yourselves…" I held my hands up as Jacob opened his mouth to speak. "We know it's important to you, and we respect that, but we have a surprise for you."

Jacob and Vanessa looked at each other, puzzled before turning back to us. I dropped my hand to Bella's thigh again, and this time her hand found mine, and she squeezed my fingers.

"We've booked a honeymoon for you. A gift from us to you."

The kids were silent, immediately turning to each other before they looked back at us.

"What…how…when…you don't have to…" They were both full of questions, and stunned statements and I heard Bella chuckle next to me.

"To Hawaii!" She added, glee in her voice, as Nessie squealed and stood up so fast her chair almost fell backward onto the wood floor.

"Mom! Really?" She rounded the table and pulled Bella into a hug, laughing as she did so.

"You two didn't have to do that!" She was now approaching me with open arms and a wide, amazing grin on her face, so much like her mom's. She threw her arms around me and settled her cheek on my shoulder as she hugged me tightly.

"Dad…wow!" Jacob approached me and squeezed my shoulder on his way to hug Bella.

When we all parted and sat back down, Bella and I explained the timing and details of the holiday. The kids were thrilled and accepted our gift with love and gratitude, and a continuing look of surprise on their faces.

I was a little concerned Jacob would think we'd overstepped, but he seemed to appreciate we only wanted the best for them. "Dad, you've already done so much for us. I know it was you who arranged the limo for the bachelorette party."

I heard Bella's soft gasp next to me, but I just squeezed her thigh under the table and kept looking at Jacob.

"That was you?" Vanessa asked as I turned to her and nodded.

"I wanted you to have a special night." I felt a bit silly admitting that now, but the way Vanessa and Bella were looking at me made me think they certainly liked the gesture.

"Thank you, that was so thoughtful," Vanessa told me.

"You're very welcome." I stood to clear away the now empty glasses in front of all of us.

"Dad leave the glasses. There was something I wanted to tell you as well." The seriousness in Jake's voice made the smile fall from my face as I wondered what on earth Jacob had to say.

**A/N: ****Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received. I honestly read every single one (many times) and squeal a little when I get a new review. I haven't replied individually to reviews as I figured you'd rather I use my limited time to write the story rather than reply to reviews but please be assured I very much appreciate them. If you have a specific question/comment that you want a reply to, please PM me and I'll answer that way.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Edward pov:

"_Dad, leave the glasses. There was something I wanted to tell you today as well."_

I nodded and sat again as my stomach tightened. Did he know something about Bella and me? My hand gripped Bella's thigh under the table, and Bella rested her hand on mine, a little tighter than before.

"Go on," I asked cautiously.

"Ummm … Mom." Jake coughed as if the word was new to him. It did sound foreign in his voice. He never mentioned his mom.

"_Your _Mom?" My voice sounded gravelly as Bella tensed next to me, and I squeezed her thigh again to try and wordlessly reassure her, or me, I wasn't sure which.

"Yeah. Her and Tanya, they're both coming to the wedding."

I paused, swallowed, and tried to keep my expression neutral. Kate _and_ Tanya would be at the wedding, and I'd be seeing my ex and her wife in less than a week's time.

I didn't know why I was surprised by this news. I knew it was a possibility, but I hadn't let my mind actually think about seeing Kate again, let alone with Tanya, too.

Jake was studying my reaction, so I tried to keep my voice light and confident when I replied. "They're both coming? That's great news, Jake. I'm pleased for you." I smiled, but it felt tight, and I know Jake saw it too.

"Really?" He sounded less sure than me.

"Of course." I stood. Right now, Jake needed my reassurance, and it was hard to give him that when my mind was racing over this news.

Still, I tried. Jake stood for my proffered hug, and I attempted to reassure him like I had a hundred times in the past, except this whole situation would take more emotional reassurance than the scraped knees and bruised ego's he'd suffered in the past.

"Son, of course, this is good news. Whatever your relationship is now…" Jake scoffed, but I kept talking, "Jake, she's your mom. You'd regret it if you didn't have her at your own wedding."

"Like she regrets hardly being there for me for over twenty years?" His voice was now quieter.

I sighed, the anger and sadness in his voice made me want to hug him closer, but instead, I pulled back and held his shoulders, making him look me in the eyes.

"I'm sure she does regret that," I told him sincerely. "Kid, I'm pleased she's making an effort for you."

"I just don't want you to feel betrayed, Dad. You've been my…everything while I only see her every few years."

I closed my eyes, feeling so sad that Jake felt that way. It made me feel that I'd failed him. I wasn't enough for Kate to stay, and I'd never found anyone else to be a mother figure for him.

Double failure.

I needed to hide my feelings, but I wasn't sure Jake would have noticed anyway, he was too busy trying to reassure me as he continued talking.

"They won't be at the top table, but I think they want to come to the rehearsal dinner and stay at the hotel."

"Jacob! It's fine. I promise! We're all grown-ups, and everything that happened was a long time ago." I ran my hands through my hair, catching Bella's eye as I did so.

"Okay, well, I wanted you to know now so you can get your head around this. You know I wouldn't mind if you changed your mind about your plus one now!" He elbowed me, no doubt trying to add some humor to this situation.

Jacob was only half-joking, but I shook my head.

I scoffed. "Don't worry about me. I haven't seen your mother face-to-face in years; I don't think she's going to be too concerned with who I do or don't bring to your wedding."

Jacob shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter too much, given she's more likely to be attracted to Bella than you!"

Bella gave a tight laugh. "Can you imagine!" She joked as Nessie looked horrified at the thought of her mom with one of Jake's parents.

_That did not bode well._

Bella looked at me horror-struck, and I wondered how this afternoon descended from the high of giving the kids a honeymoon, to the craziness of the last few minutes.

It wasn't long after that we cleared the table, and I boxed up some leftover meatloaf for the kids to take home.

I walked them to the door as they were leaving, Bella one step behind me.

"Mom, are you coming?" Nessie asked as she slipped on her boots.

"Oh..."

"Bella, if you can wait a few minutes, I'll pack you some leftovers too. I eat at the restaurant, so I don't want the food to go to waste."

"Oh, sure. Thanks, Edward. I can wait." Bella turned back to Nessie with a shrug. "You go ahead. I'll see you soon for your wedding!"

Nessie squealed and hugged Bella goodbye, as the kids finally left.

I thought the second Bella and I were alone I'd be working on removing all her clothes as quickly as humanly possible, but today had been surprisingly difficult, and I was feeling a mixture of emotions. I leaned back on the closed front door, and Bella approached me. As she leaned in for a hug, I rested my chin on her head and sighed.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as I stroked through her hair, calming myself as I tried to process my emotions.

"Honestly, I don't know. I feel like we're deceiving the kids. And the whole Kate thing…" I let out a long sigh. "I knew when Jake got engaged, I'd have to see her at the wedding, but until now, it wasn't a reality."

Bella wriggled her hand under my shirt and stroked my bare back as I continued to hold her close to me.

"We used to have more contact, for Jake obviously, but as he's aged, he's maintained his own relationship with her."

"So how much contact do you have with her now?" I felt Bella tense at her own words, so all I could do was hold her body even closer to mine.

"None. They live in Boston, so for them to see Jake takes a lot of planning. The last time they came to Seattle was for Jake's graduation, and the last time he flew there was for their wedding, which was about six years ago. Jake keeps in touch with them but no longer needs me to facilitate that for him, so I haven't spoken to her in years."

Bella nodded as I continued.

"Maybe I should have forgiven Kate sooner and involved her more in Jake's life, but honestly… she left me with a one-year-old and a promise to return … and never did." I felt Bella kiss my chest before she flattened her palms on my back and hugged me even closer.

"Edward…"

I gently pushed away from our hug, not wanting to show Bella how affected I was. "It's fine." I ran my hands through my hair as Bella straightened and looked at me. "It's old news now. I'm pleased she's making an effort for Jake."

"It's okay if you're unsure…"

"Really. I'm fine. Do you want another drink?" I asked, walking down the corridor to the kitchen as she followed.

"Sure."

When I reached the kitchen, I clicked on the kettle. "I'm sorry." I turned to her and leaned against the kitchen counter.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I just feel like a jerk going on about how it feels to have Jake's mom coming to the wedding, knowing full well Vanessa's dad can't be there."

Bella nodded. "I know, but Nessie and I have made peace with that. This is different; you seem rattled by this news."

I scoffed. "Yeah." I ran a hand through my hair. "I don't know why I'm feeling like this; maybe it's because I wish I could introduce her to this smart, funny, beautiful woman I've started dating…" I edged close to Bella, my hands finding her hips as I pulled her to me in what was becoming a familiar move.

"Hah!" She laughed, her palms stroking up my forearms. "Way to change the subject!"

"I just want to enjoy my time with you and not think about my ex."

Bella nodded. "Fair enough. In that case, I will thank you for being the one to arrange Nessie's limo; I had no idea that was you." She edged closer to me as she spoke.

I shrugged. "Yeah, just something to make the day more special…" I didn't finish my sentence as Bella's lips crashed into mine.

My hands found her ass automatically, and I didn't even remember picking her up and resting her on the kitchen worktop. But I must have done it because I was now standing between her parted legs as we both edged our bodies closer and closer moaning as we did so. Her hands found their way under my shirt and onto my chest, as mine were in her hair, holding her face close to mine.

"Stay," I whispered into her mouth.

I felt her body tense as she withdrew slightly to look into my eyes.

"Stay here tonight," I repeated, trying to keep the pleading tone out of my voice, but, damn, I was desperate to finally share my bed with her … to see her on the pillow next to me, to wake up to her in the morning. And, in the hours in between, we'd be doing everything but sleeping.

Bella looked intently into my eyes as she grinned widely before she nodded and returned her lips to mine.

**A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I constantly edit this story. **

**Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received. I honestly read every single one (many times) and squeal a little when I get a new review. I haven't replied individually to reviews as I figured you'd rather I use my limited time to write the story rather than reply to reviews but please be assured I very much appreciate them. If you have a specific question/comment that you want a reply to, please PM me and I'll answer that way.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Bella:

Finally, the weekend of my daughter's wedding was here. Remind me how on earth I was old enough to be in this situation!

The last few days had been hectic, and as the big day approached, our schedules kept Edward and me apart. We both had relatives flying into our state and various collections of balloons, suits, and last-minute items that were, according to Nessie and Jake, essential for the wedding.

I arrived at the venue the day before the wedding. I was glad to be spending this last evening with Nessie; if I had been at home alone, I'd be dwelling on how on earth my knobby- kneed toddler became a woman who was getting married tomorrow.

According to the age-old tradition, Nessie was spending the night before her wedding with me … in my room. Jacob was staying with Edward for his last night of freedom. That information made me very aware that Edward and I were going to be in the same hotel on the last night that we were technically 'unrelated.' Still, my priority tonight was Nessie; we were planning a beauty session and a good old catch-up. Once I'd checked in and got my room card, I unpacked and waited for a call or text from Nessie to let me know they were checked in too.

While I waited, I pulled out the three swimsuits I'd brought with me. Three suits for two nights; even I admitted that was excessive. I could be a little indecisive at times. It was the thought of Edward possibly seeing me in one of these that made me second, or third, guess my decision, so I'd brought all three. I don't know why; he'd already seen me naked several times, but I still wanted to look good in front of him.

The butterflies in my tummy started up again as I thought of us that way. Damn it. I needed to get a grip. This time tomorrow, our kids would be married to each other, and I worried if the stone-cold reality of that fact would change our relationship at all.

I flopped back on the bed, groaning at my predicament. I wanted to enjoy the wedding of my only child, not have it overshadowed by my feelings for her father-in-law.

I tried Nessie again on my cell, still no answer. I didn't resort to phoning Edward; I just assumed Nessie was driving and would return my call soon. In an effort to stop my thoughts returning to Edward, I decided to go to the pool and wait there. I picked up the middle choice of swimsuit; it wasn't the skimpy bikini, but it wasn't the proper suit I brought when I decided to take up swimming as a form of fitness. This one was somewhere in the middle, a one-piece but with fashionable cut-outs and a low back.

After grabbing a towel, a book, and my flip flops, I left the room before I could change my mind. I wanted a calm swim, which might help me switch off my mind from Edward for longer than a few minutes. I changed in the changing rooms and dropped a cover-up dress over my head. It was see-through with little holes all over but made me feel better about walking out to the pool. I wasn't embarrassed by my body, but I wasn't a confident twenty-something either. I'd aged and carried a baby, and my body reflected that.

I rounded the corner to the pool, and there was Nessie, Jake, and Edward. No wonder no one was answering my texts or calls!

Edward had Jake in a headlock, goofing around with him on the side of the pool, both trying to throw the other in the water. Once again, I caught a glimpse of the dad Edward must have been to Jake during his childhood. They were both laughing and tussling, roughhousing in their own world until they heard Nessie greet me.

Edward looked up, still holding his son in a headlock, and gave me a huge grin. He looked so happy and carefree.

And so hot.

He wore red board shorts that stopped a few inches above his knees. His chest was glistening with water, and his hair was wild and wet.

We looked at each other for a few beats too long, both taking in the appearance of the other until Jacob took his chance since Edward was distracted. He grunted, broke free from the headlock, and gleefully pushed his dad into the pool.

Edward managed to turn his fall into a dive, so he didn't belly flop into the water, but he still came up to the surface, spluttering slightly and glaring daggers at Jacob. Jacob was too busy laughing to care, so Edward ducked his head under the water and set off to swim the length of the pool. His broad back and strong arms were on full display as he sped through the water, clearly a strong swimmer.

"Mom!" Nessie called, sounding like she'd called me several times already. She was lying on a sun lounger to the side of the pool, so I joined her, thankful that we were the only four occupants in the area. She'd looked up from her book and set it to one side when I settled on the lounger next to her.

"How long had they been at it?" I asked, with amusement in my voice as I watched Jake dive into the pool and deliberately splash Edward.

Nessie rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Since we got here about half an hour ago."

Edward swam to the side nearest to us and pulled himself up out of the water. I tried not to look at his strong arms, his biceps straining for a few seconds before he stood in front of me, dripping wet and looking like he was resisting the urge to shake himself like a wet dog.

"Hey, you made it!" He commented while Jake climbed out after him. Their energy was infectious. I smiled up at Edward, trying desperately to look at his eyes, not his chest.

"Yep, all checked in. I doubt I'll get much sleep tonight, though," I added as Edwards's eyebrows rose in surprise. His grin somehow widened, as he looked questioningly at me. His mind had gone somewhere naughty, and I wanted to join him there.

"Nessie's staying with me tonight. Can't have the bride and groom seeing each other the morning of the wedding, can we?"

Edward nodded. A flicker of disappointment flashed past his eyes. He was probably thinking the same thing as me…tomorrow, things would change. Our kids would be married to each other, and we'd be related. In-laws of some kind, I didn't know what kind, but I was pretty sure it was the kind that shouldn't sleep together, however much we wanted to. And, right now, watching water droplets drip lazily down Edward's chest, I really wanted to.

Edward recovered himself, and the mischief returned to his smile. "You coming in?" He gestured to the pool behind him.

"As long as you two play nice," I joked, pointing first to Edward, then Jacob. "I don't fancy a ton of chlorine to wash out of my hair tomorrow."

"Scouts' honor," Edward replied, seriously making some fumbled sign with the fingers of his right hand.

Jake slapped his dad's arm. "You were never a scout!"

"After the number of meetings and activities I took you to, surely, I must be some kind of honorary scout by now!" Edward joked, making me picture him in a scout uniform, complete with toggle tie and fabric patches.

"What's so funny?" Edward challenged me.

"Picturing you as a wise owl or whatever they're called."

"Dad? Wise? Hah!" Jacob replied, which prompted Edward to turn and push Jake back into the water.

The resulting splash made Nessie and me so wet we might as well be in the water ourselves. Edward did another elegant dive in as Nessie walked to the steps, leaving me alone in my cover-up.

I looked for Edward. He had re-emerged from under the water and was watching me, his bright eyes twinkling.

I grabbed the bottom of my cover-up and pulled it over my head quickly; I needed this to be over with, like pulling off a band-aid.

Edward watched, his eyes wide and hungry as I walked to the steps. I had to turn around to get in using the ladder. I was pretty sure I was now giving him an unexpected view of my ass, but I couldn't see him to read his expression. I shuddered slightly as I lowered myself into the water, finding it cold. Once in up to my shoulders, I turned and found Edward still grinning at me. His eyebrows rose in a mischievous expression as I looked around for the kids.

They'd swam up to the other end of the pool and were splashing each other, oblivious to their boring parents. Edward swam casually over to me. He looked so young and playful, his hair wet and brushed off his face more than usual. Mine was in a top knot in a desperate attempt to keep it dry. A few pieces had fallen loose, but I couldn't fix them with wet hands. Anyway, what did that matter, Edward wasn't looking at my hair!

"Bella, you're killing me here," he told me in a soft, low moan, his words making me grin.

"I feel a little self-conscious," I confessed. I don't know why I was being so honest with him when I should have just taken his compliment.

"Don't. The only person looking is me, and I think you look absolutely stunning."

"Edward," I moaned in a warning voice.

"You do. My son marrying your daughter won't change that."

He'd done it. He'd addressed the elephant in the room. We were going to become co-in-laws, or parent in-laws, or whatever the hell we were going to be. Why wasn't there a word for us in the English language? Whatever we were called, we were family. There was no denying that.

He must have seen my face drop as he smiled softly before leaning in and whispering in my ear.

"They aren't married yet." His breath tickled my face, and his bare chest was almost touching me. My fingers twitched as I ached to touch him … to run my fingers over his wet chest and feel the beat of his heart under the softness of his skin.

He swam backwards a little, perhaps to read my reaction to his words or maybe to get some space from the tension building around us. We needed to calm down in front of the kids.

"Jake's staying with you tonight and Nessie's staying with me," I told him, believing that ruled out any way of seeing each other tonight.

He didn't seem so concerned as he merely shrugged. "Who says we need a room…or a bed."

"I do!" I wasn't a spring chicken anymore.

"Then, I'll book us our _own_ room." He was serious. He held my gaze as he bobbed about in the water, just out of arm's length.

Seeing him half-naked and almost close enough to touch was making me actually consider his words.

Before I could answer, Jake and Nessie came swimming towards us, and we instinctively parted.

"We have the rehearsal in less than two hours." Nessie reminded us. I knew what that meant.

Kate.

Edward looked at me. We hadn't talked any more about him seeing Kate again, so I didn't know if it was still bothering him.

"When's your mom getting here, Jake?" Edward asked, trying but failing to make his voice sound casual.

"Last I heard their cab should get them here about four. They might catch the end of the rehearsal but will definitely make the meal."

Edward nodded. "Maybe we should get out soon and get ready. The rehearsal starts at three, right?"

Jake nodded.

"Okay then, I'll see you all there." Edward gave me a wink, lightning the mood as he swam to the side of the pool and pulled himself out of the water.

"Oh, jeez, I hope he's okay with seeing my mom," Jake muttered as I nodded.

I hoped so too.

**A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received. I honestly read every single one (many times) and squeal a little when I get a new review. I haven't replied individually to reviews as I figured you'd rather I use my limited time to write the story rather than reply to reviews but please be assured I very much appreciate them. If you have a specific question/comment that you want a reply to, please PM me and I'll answer that way.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Edward POV:

"Dad, Dad, are you in there?"

Jake was knocking on my hotel room door, reminding me of when he was a toddler, and I couldn't even use the bathroom in peace without hearing those very words.

However, that wasn't my concern right now. My concern was the fact that his fiancé's mother was sitting on the edge of my bed as we chatted, and I didn't know if Jake had a room key yet, given he was going to stay here tonight.

Bella's eyes went wide, and she hopped off the bed and rushed to the bathroom, closing the door before I opened the main door to see my son standing in the corridor, looking flustered.

He stepped inside, running his hands through his hair, a trait I knew he got from me.

"Jacob, what's the matter?"

He walked into the main part of the room as I stood by the closed bathroom door, making sure he couldn't go in there without passing me.

He turned to face me, looking serious. "It's Mom." He looked apologetic for even mentioning her. "Her flight changed... she…_they_ are here early."

"They're at the hotel now?" Why had my heart rate picked up already?

"They're in the cab, just about to pull in."

"Oh, Jesus," I muttered under my breath. "Right, okay, well, go ahead and wait for them at reception. I'll be down in five minutes to say hello."

"You're not coming now?"

"No, Jacob. I need five minutes, okay?" I knew Jacob wanted me to stand with him when they arrived and to be by his side to help what would inevitably be an awkward meeting. However, if he was man enough to get married tomorrow, I figured he could handle this while I made sure his almost, mother-in-law managed to sneak out of this hotel room without him noticing.

He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it and nodded. "Sure."

Once he left, the bathroom door slowly opened, and Bella found me changing into a fresh shirt. Her eyes found my bare chest, but they'd lost the playful glint they had earlier as she stood staring at me with a concerned expression.

"Did you hear? Kate and Tanya are here. I should go and see them." I slipped my arms into my shirt.

She nodded. "Yeah, of course."

Before I did up any buttons on my shirt, I walked over to Bella and pulled her to me. Her cheek rested on my bare skin, and I rested my chin on her hair.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

I kissed the top of her head, my lips lingering there before I spoke. "I am when I'm with you."

"You won't be with me. We'll be across the room from each other, pretending we aren't much more than acquaintances." She sounded slightly bitter but I couldn't blame her. I felt the same.

"Mmmmm, I hope you don't do this with your acquaintances," I mumbled. I held her chin with my thumb and raised her mouth as I lowered mine. Our lips connected, and I stifled a moan as we kissed.

It may have been a little longer than five minutes by the time I made it down to the hotel lobby, which was empty except for a rather bored-looking businessman whose attention was focused on his cell phone. Bella had gone ahead to the rehearsal dinner, where I assumed everyone else was starting to gather.

After double-checking the lobby, I walked into the ceremony room with my head held high. My eyes zeroed in on Bella immediately; she was laughing at something Nessie had said as she stood at the back of the room near the ornate double doors I assumed would open to allow her to walk Nessie down the aisle tomorrow.

Ahead of me, I could see Kate and Tanya talking to Jake. They had their backs to me, but I'd know Kate's frame and stature anywhere, and there was no mistaking Tanya's, striking waist-length blonde hair. Kate's arm was wrapped around Tanya's waist, her platinum wedding ring glinting on her finger. I took a deep breath and approached them, tapping Kate's shoulder when I was close enough, and leaning to speak in her ear.

"Hi, stranger." I tried to keep my voice playful, but it was hard to hide the emotions I was feeling.

She jumped a little and spun around.

"Edward! Hi!" She looked at me in surprise, taking in my appearance for a beat before she pulled me to her in a friendly hug.

Her embrace was familiar and strange at the same time but was over before I could analyze it any further.

"You're looking well," she told me, resting her palms on my chest as I scoffed uncomfortably. I looked down at her hands and saw that ring again, glinting in the light as it mocked me.

"Thanks, you too. I'm glad you could make it for Jacob's big day."

"Of course, we wouldn't miss it!" She gestured to Tanya, bringing her into the conversation as I nodded to her in greeting. Kate's hands left my chest as she pulled Tanya to her side, and I looked away, my gaze finding Jacob, wondering what he was making of all this. I saw his shoulders visibly relax as he realized that, so far, his mom and I were able to be perfectly civil to each other.

"Have you had a chance to catch up with anyone else yet?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation moving. "Emmett and my parents should be here somewhere." I scanned the room, but again, my eyes found Bella and hovered there instead of looking further.

"Jacob re-introduced us." Kate looked at me and followed my gaze to Bella. "Who's that?" She asked, a twinkle in her eye as she grinned. "She's stunning; I can tell that even from here."

"Mom!" Jacob groaned as Tanya chuckled rather than took offense to her wife's words.

"Jacob, you know I'm happily married…" Kate put her arm around Tanya's waist and pulled her even closer, "…but I notice a pretty woman when I see one."

"Mom, stop! That's Vanessa's Mom! She's about to become my mother-in-law!"

"Oh! Really? Well, it looks to me like Vanessa will age very well then."

Jacob groaned, and I chuckled at his pained expression, that was until Kate continued talking.

"She seems your type, Edward." She turned to me expectedly, and it was then I remembered how little Kate thought before opening her mouth.

She seemed to quickly realize what she'd said as she started to backtrack and change the subject. "So, I guess it's a shame she's out of bounds. I'd love to see you with someone special, though. Jacob mentioned you weren't bringing anyone to the wedding?"

I ran my hands over my jaw and tried to read Kate's tone. Was that a snippy remark, or was she being genuine? I couldn't tell anymore.

"I'm not sure you know that much about my type, Kate. I certainly didn't know much about yours." I knew I was being defensive, trying to deflect Kate from her very correct assumption, but it didn't seem to rile her. She looked over to Bella, then back to me and shrugged.

"You're right, Edward. You don't need a partner to enjoy your son's wedding. Maybe you could introduce me to Vanessa's Mom though, sheand I are going to be co-in-laws, the mothers of the bride and groom, I'd like to have a good relationship with her. Do you two get on well?" She raised her eyebrows at me; her look pressing as I tried to remain calm.

I pulled my shirt collar away from my throat, Christ, it was getting hot in here. "With Bella?" I asked, trying to act innocent and buy my brain time to think. Jacob was watching me squirm, so I cleared my throat and continued. "Sure, she's helped a lot with this wedding, and Nessie's a credit to her."

Kate nodded, "Well, introduce us then." she laughed, lightening the mood, as I inwardly cringed at introducing my ex-partner to my secret, new partner at my son's wedding rehearsal dinner.

"Sure, okay." I nodded, hoping I didn't look as panicked as I felt.

Bella caught my eye across the room. Her forehead furrowed as if she was assessing my expression. Her gaze then fell on Kate and Tanya as she walked forward, meeting us halfway.

"Bella, is it?" Kate asked before Bella could speak. "Edward's been telling me all about you, I said how pretty you were, and you're even more so up close."

"Errr…thanks." Bella looked almost as uncomfortable as I felt as I pinched the bridge of my nose and hoped this awkward conversation would end quickly.

"Bella, this is my mom, Kate, and her wife, Tanya." Jacob took over the introductions, which suited me just fine. Before Bella had time to say much more, the wedding celebrant was standing on the slightly elevated stage and clapping her hands for everyone's attention.

I sighed in relief as we had to separate, Bella and Nessie to one end of the aisle, Jacob and me to the other, with Kate and Tanya to the front row of seats.

The rehearsal went well; I stood and pretended to hand Jake the rings before taking my seat. It appeared I wasn't needed for much else until the end of the ceremony, when the celebrant was pairing people together to walk back down the aisle after announcing … 'The new Mr. and Mrs. Cullen.'

I thought she'd pair me with Kate, which, while slightly awkward, made sense to me. Instead, I was paired with Bella, and Kate and Tanya were paired together, in lieu of Ness' father not being able to walk with Kate.

Bella threaded her arm through my proffered elbow, and I saw the mischief glint in her brown eyes. She didn't seem to be panicking about this arrangement, so I relaxed my shoulders and smiled back at her as we walked together, trying to keep pace with the classical music.

When that was over, it was time for the meal, which was an informal affair in the conference room, presumably because the main room was being set up for the real wedding reception tomorrow.

I was seated in between Jake and Kate, with Tanya next to Kate and Nessie in-between Jake and Bella. Kate and I managed light conversation, and it felt nice to catch up with her without our usual awkwardness. I realized that now that I was in a happy relationship, I no longer resented her for moving on and finding happiness with Tanya.

Once the meal was over, people started to drift off, either to the bar or their rooms. Nessie was keen on getting an early night and wanted Bella to return to their room, face masks and foot spas were mentioned.

Bella caught my eye before raising her napkin and dabbing at the corners of her mouth. "Excuse me; I'm off to the restroom."

She may have been talking to everyone at the table in general, but I saw the look in her eyes. I gave her a two-minute head start then excused myself.

Sure enough, Bella was hovering outside the restroom, and she didn't miss a beat when I approached. We both raced towards the door that led to the garden, falling into each other's arms the second we were outside. With my lips glued to hers, I walked her backward until she was sandwiched between me and the brick wall. She moaned as my hands found her hair and I couldn't resist a small thrust when her hands grabbed the back of my neck and held me even tighter and even closer to her.

When we finally came up for a breath, I took a step back and grinned at her. Her lips were red as she licked them, looking half embarrassed, half glowing as I shook my head, scared of the feelings I was developing for her.

"Looks like Vanessa is getting you tonight. I don't mind; I want to be there for Jacob. But tomorrow…" I picked up her hand, which had been resting by her side and stroked over her knuckles. "…tomorrow you're all mine."

"Tomorrow, our kids will be married; we'll be…"

"Don't say it." I interrupted, sounding grumpier than I intended. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. "Sorry. I know full well what tomorrow means, but my feelings for you aren't going to change overnight."

"Me either," she admitted.

"Good," I nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow at the end of the aisle." Why did my stomach roll in a delicious way when I said that?

Bella seemed to catch my words, as well. "See you tomorrow."

She squeezed my hand as I reluctantly let her go. I hung back in the garden as I watched her walk through the doors, turn and smile at me, then walk out of sight.

**A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received. I honestly read every single one (many times) and squeal a little when I get a new review. I haven't replied individually to reviews as I figured you'd rather I use my limited time to write the story rather than reply to reviews but please be assured I very much appreciate them. If you have a specific question/comment that you want a reply to, please PM me and I'll answer that way.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**The wedding is finally here…**

Edward:

Looking after these rings was a big responsibility, so I checked my jacket pocket for the two hundredth time that morning. Happy they were safe in my possession, I added my keycard to my trouser pocket and left the room with about twenty minutes to spare until my son's wedding ceremony.

As I checked that the door was locked, I saw Bella rounding the corner. She walked down the corridor towards me, and as our eyes locked, she froze.

"It's okay; we're allowed to see each other!" I joked. She slowed down and paused a few steps away from me, looking flustered and panicked.

"I know, I just wasn't expecting to see you."

"Is everything okay?" I asked as I approached her, desperate to touch her, to pull her close and kiss her. But I didn't know if Nessie was seconds behind her, about to round the corner just like Bella had.

"No. Vanessa doesn't have anything blue, and she's freaking out, and I said I'd sort it out, but I don't have anything either. Well, I did find a chewing gum wrapper, but I can't give that to my daughter on her wedding day! Why didn't I think about this… why wasn't I prepared…" She was pacing the hallway and gesturing wildly, clearly flustered.

"Bella…" I held her shoulders and locked eyes with her. "Calm down. Take a deep breath; we'll figure this out."

She relaxed her shoulders and took a few deep breaths, which seemed to calm her slightly.

"Christ, you look stunning," I mumbled under my breath. The off the shoulder dress she was wearing accentuated her décolletage and made her look dainty, while the heels she had on made her appear taller than usual.

She looked rather flustered as she brushed loose strands of hair out of her eyes.

"Edward, you don't seem to appreciate the severity of the wedding crisis we have here!"

I squeezed her shoulders as I chuckled at her overreaction. "What can I do to help?"

"Find something blue within the next few minutes." She was dead serious.

"Done. Anything else?"

Bella smiled at me, finally calming. She seemed to take in my appearance for the first time, and she wasn't too subtle about looking at my outfit, mainly my chest.

"Maybe…maybe don't look so damn handsome in that tux."

I sucked in a quick breath. "Hmmm, not sure what I can do about that one."

She chuckled. "You know, later…" she held the lapels of my suit jacket and pulled me closer.

"Hmmmmm," I answered.

"….later…I'm _really_ going to enjoy taking this tux off you."

"Is that so?" I teased with raised eyebrows. "Shame, it's only a rental!"

She laughed, finally looking more relaxed.

"Stay here," I told her, kissing her forehead before I turned back to my room. Inside I found my wallet. I pulled out the photo I was looking for and returned to Bella. She smiled when she saw what I was handing her.

"See, he's in blue shorts, and the ocean is blue."

"Edward, it's perfect." She gazed at the picture of an eight-year-old Jacob at the beach, his face split wide in a grin, his hair whipping away in the wind.

"Nessie can tuck it in her bouquet," Bella said as she hugged the picture to her chest, which warmed my heart.

"Thank you." She sounded so sincere I couldn't help leaning forward to meet her lips with mine.

I pulled away after a few seconds, mindful that any of the many wedding guests could spot us, and neither of us needed to be explaining our situation to our kids, today of all days.

"I'll see you at the altar." I winked.

She smiled and nodded. "See you at the altar."

Neither of us moved, we merely looked at each other, and I was aware I was grinning like an idiot.

"Okay, I'm going to go now."

"Okay."

"Okay." Finally, I turned and headed for the stairs trying not to turn and look back at Bella.

Christ, I needed to get a grip.

ooooooOOOOOOOOOooooooo

"Are you sure you have the rings, Dad?" Jacob looked at me with wide questioning eyes, and I couldn't believe he was talking to me about wedding rings. My little boy was asking me if I had his wedding ring, wasn't he still in middle school?

I patted my suit jacket pocket. I knew they were in there, but the gesture seemed to reassure him.

"Yes, Jacob. I have both rings." I held his broad shoulders and bent my knees slightly, so he was looking directly at me.

"You've got this, Son, there's nothing to worry about. I've seen Bella this morning; everything is fine with Vanessa. She's about to walk down that aisle, and all that matters are the two of you and your vows to each other. The rest, the flowers, the music, the damn chair covers … none of that matters."

Jacob sighed and nodded. "Thanks, Dad." I patted him on the back as I stood up straighter and looked to the double doors through which Vanessa and Bella would walk.

The celebrant took her place, and within a few minutes, the music started, and all the guests stood and faced the aisle. My stomach lurched in anticipation, and it wasn't even my wedding. I rested a hand on Jacob's shoulder, and he stood taller, his eyes fixed on the double doors.

Slowly they opened wide, making me gulp as I heard Jacob gasp.

Vanessa looked stunning in a lacy white dress. It was shaped around her bust, and her fancy top knot hairdo accentuated her bare shoulders. I glanced at Jacob, who looked frozen, his eyes glued on his bride.

"Breathe, son," I whispered, prompting him to take in a large rush of air.

I looked back down the aisle, and this time, my eyes found Bella. I knew I should be focusing on Vanessa but seeing Bella at the end of the aisle walking towards me while the wedding music played, made my heart skip a beat, and my knees feel weak.

As she approached, I made eye contact with her and tried to suppress my smile. I tore my eyes away from Bella to see Jake take Nessie's hand and help her step up onto the stage area.

ooooooOOOOOOOoooooo

Bella:

I'd slept surprisingly well last night, but today it was game time. After room service delivered a breakfast of fresh fruit and warm pastries, the room started to fill with excited bridesmaids, as Nessie's makeup artist and hairstylist arrived right on time.

I was included in the beauty treatment and pampered as I've never been pampered before. My bone structure was contoured, and my cheeks highlighted before my hair was curled, backcombed, and twirled into a half-up, half-down affair, I would never be able to create myself.

Right now, I was thankful for the helping hands I'd had with my appearance because as I watched my daughter's wedding ceremony draw to a close, Edward's gaze was boring into me.

I tried not to look over at him, but when I felt his eyes on mine, I knew I was going to give in.

His eyes twinkled, and when he licked his lips ever so slowly, it made my knees weak. I never thought I'd find love at my age. I knew I wasn't particularly old, and love didn't care what age you were, or apparently what relation you were either, but I thought if I did find it with someone, it would be a relaxed, gentle relationship. We'd take afternoon walks together and do the Sunday crossword in quiet harmony. But with Edward, things weren't relaxed or gentle.

We were all-consuming. We're teeth clashing, clothes ripping, scream stifling, desperately touching, and that surprised and thrilled me. I'm not going to lie though, we had done a Sunday crossword or two, but when we didn't know the answers, Edward made up rude words to fit the spaces as his hand inched higher and higher up my thighs before we tried out the meaning of some of those rude words—right then and there on his dining room table.

See, not gentle or relaxed.

We were all tension and spark, and right now, looking at him across the room, it thrilled me and scared me in equal measure.

With the official ceremony complete, Jacob and Vanessa walked back down the aisle together, hand in hand, waving to friends and family. That left Edward and me next to follow them. He offered me his arm, and I threaded my hand through the crook of his elbow, looking up at his sparkling eyes. Any onlookers must have thought he was very pleased with his son's newly married status because he was absolutely beaming. His pearly white teeth were on full display as he nodded at me and led us down the aisle, closely followed by Kate and Tanya.

After a quick round of congratulations, Jacob and Vanessa were led away for photos. We were told to wait until we were called to join in, and seemingly out of nowhere, wait staff appeared with flutes of champagne and teeny tiny appetizers.

Edward and I made conversation with various family and friends as they filtered out of the ceremony room, but Edward never went far. He always managed to catch my eye from across the room and smile at me in a way that made me wish we were alone. Even though I didn't want to wish away my daughter's wedding day, I was counting the hours until Vanessa and Jake were occupied in the honeymoon suite, and Edward and I could be alone in his room. Or mine, I wasn't picky. They both had a bed, and I figured that's all either of us would need.

Before long, close family were called into the garden to pose with the bride and groom for photos. Once the more formal photos had been taken, the photographer instructed us to have some fun while they tried to catch some natural smiles. It didn't take long for Edward to stand next to me, his hand finding my waist, then slipping lower to my ass, always careful to hide his hand from the camera, it certainly got a natural smile from me!

The reception was my favorite part of the day, so far, at least. Everyone was more relaxed now that the formalities of the ceremony were over. And, true to their word, Jacob and Vanessa had paired Edward and me together at the main table, where we were enjoying an array of tasty dishes. Edward's hand occasionally rested on my thigh, under the table and out of sight. My shoulder brushed his, and he grinned widely at me, wearing that damn tux and looking so handsome; the butterflies in my tummy couldn't settle long enough for me to enjoy eating my food.

The rest of the evening consisted of the usual funny and touching speeches, cutting of the cake and throwing of the bouquet. There were also the _unusual_ glances between the father of the groom and me—the looks the mother of the groom was giving me that I couldn't quite work out, and the catching of the bouquet…by me. Nessie and the DJ had coaxed me onto the floor. Even uncoupled, it's a bit unusual to have the mother of the bride in the catching group, but when the bouquet landed in my hands, Nessie squealed, Edward winked at me, and Emmett couldn't stop laughing.

It was a joyous occasion, as we all celebrated the marriage of Vanessa and Jacob!

**A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received. I honestly read every single one (many times) and squeal a little when I get a new review. I haven't replied individually to reviews as I figured you'd rather I use my limited time to write the story rather than reply to reviews but please be assured I very much appreciate them. If you have a specific question/comment that you want a reply to, please PM me and I'll answer that way.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Bella:

As the evening progressed, it was time for Vanessa and Jacob's first dance. They were introduced to the dance floor by the very enthusiastic DJ who let them dance alone for their first dance. Nessie looked wonderfully happy—her dress flowing as Jacob spun her around before settling her close to his chest. He then looked at her like she was the light of his life, which I both suspected and hoped was the case.

My happy bubble was abruptly burst when the DJ insisted the parents of the bride and groom join the dance floor next.

Kate and Tanya looked thrilled as they made their way quickly to the dance floor, where they held each other closely in what looked like a well-rehearsed stance. They were slow dancing before either Edward or I had stood up, but the DJ's repeated calls for us meant we didn't have much choice.

Part of me desperately wanted to dance with Edward, especially in that tux, but the other part of me knew it wouldn't be a good idea, given our audience. I looked at Edward, who had been sitting a few chairs down from me. He stood and wiped his palms on his thighs, seemingly buying time.

As the first song morphed into the next track, Vanessa and Jacob parted. Jacob headed for me, as Vanessa walked to Edward, who whispered something to her before taking her hand and leading her in a slow dance. My heart skipped a beat as I saw him being so tender towards my daughter, who, right now, should be dancing with her own father.

I didn't have time to dwell on that as Jacob was taking my hand and asking me if I recognized the song now playing.

"Amazed," I whispered as he nodded.

"We threw that one in for Dad!" He joked as I looked over Jake's shoulder at Edward, who was already looking back at me. He'd noticed too.

I could see him swaying slowly with Nessie. He said something that made her throw her head back in laughter. His large hand was resting on the top of her back, between her shoulder blades, and I could tell he was the one leading the dance.

As the song continued, he whispered in Nessie's ear and withdrew from her hold. I watched as he approached Jake and me. _Damn, that man could fill a suit well._ His broad shoulders gave him stature and confidence, and his tie made him look more authoritative than his usual attire.

I struggled to work out his expression as he approached me. It seemed to be a mix of seriousness, lust, and a hint of mischief.

When he got closer, Edward patted Jake on the shoulder and nodded to Vanessa. "Son, go dance with your wife."

Jake dropped a kiss on my cheek and patted his dad's shoulder as he left, and Edward's eyes met mine.

He slipped effortlessly into Jake's place, one hand slotting into mine while the other one held my waist, lower and more intimately than Jake had.

Nessie and Jake and Kate and Tanya were the only other couples on the dance floor, and I was well aware of the eyes of our family members on us. Edward and I were moving slowly as we tried to look like we weren't standing too close, that we weren't holding each other too tightly, that our bodies weren't lit on fire by being this close to each other.

Edward squeezed my hand. "Relax, I won't bite," he whispered as I looked up at him.

His eyes glistened with mischief.

_Bastard. _

A bastard who was remembering the same moment I was, when, only a few nights ago, he'd nibbled my shoulder as I'd clung to him while he moved his body on top of mine.

Inside mine…

Over and over…

He moved his body a notch closer to mine. I wasn't sure that was sensible, but I wasn't about to object. His chest met mine, warm and strong. "You're lucky everyone's watching because the things I want to do to you…" he trailed off as I felt the rumble of his words from deep within him. His voice was gravelly as if he were using all his energy to remain calm and behave himself.

I bit the edge of my lip as I looked up at him. I could feel my face reddening, but Edward just maintained eye contact and nodded, ever so slightly, standing by his words.

"Behave!" I scolded, using all my energy to resist resting my head on his crisp white shirt, on his soft, warm chest.

"That's the problem, I can't seem to behave around you," he murmured, glancing around the room at the faces watching us before he spun me around gently before settling me firmly against his chest once more.

Right where I belonged.

Or not.

Because now we were family.

Not soon.

Not in a month.

Not in a week.

Not tomorrow.

_Now._

As of five hours ago, our kids got married, and we are now co-in-laws or something like that.

"Well, you'll have to now." I didn't know why I said it, and I regretted it immediately, but I couldn't help myself.

I'm not sure if Edward felt me tense at my own internal thoughts, or if he was thinking something along the same lines himself, but he took a slight step back, creating a gap between our bodies, breaking the spell we'd been under.

Now we were both more irritated at our situation. Neither of us spoke, but within seconds our bodies had closed the gap we'd just created. My racing heart and butterfly-filled stomach weren't getting the memo that Edward and I were now family. He seemed to be ignoring that fact as well, as his fingers smoothed over the back of my hand, and the one he had on my hip, worked its way around my back and held me even closer.

His broad, strong chest was right there, so close to me; I could easily rest my cheek and hear his beating heart; instead, I jumped about three feet in the air when I felt a tap on my shoulder that catapulted me out of my thoughts.

Emmett stood over Edward's shoulder, looking a little sheepish.

"Bro, how about sharing the mother of the bride tonight? I've barely said hello to Bella." Emmett's words were jovial, but he was shooting daggers at Edward. I felt Edward hesitate before his hand released mine as he passed me over to his brother.

He sat off to one side of the dance floor, watching us for a minute until Rosalie dragged him reluctantly to his feet for another dance.

"Sorry, I thought it was best to help Edward cool things down; every minute that passed, you two were looking a little less and less PG-13 from the sidelines." Emmett was holding my side and stood a more respectable distance away from me, making me realize how close Edward and I had actually been.

I felt my face redden at Emmett's words. "Oh."

_Shit! _

Just how much did Emmett know about Edward and me?

"Yeah." He nodded to emphasize his words. "Edward looked like he was going to start humping you here and now, and even though Jake and Vanessa are in their own little bubble right now, I think even they would have noticed that."

I froze. Emmett must have sensed my panic as he bent down slightly to meet my eyes. "It's okay, Bella. I'm not going to tell anyone."

"You…you know about Edward and me?" My words were barely a whisper above the music, but Emmett merely smiled and nodded.

"Eh, yeah! You two might think you're being subtle and careful, but…" he whistled and raised his eyebrows, "…the tension rolling off you both…Christ…"

"Emmett!" I shoved his shoulder in a playful gesture. "He told you?"

Emmett nodded.

I scoffed. "Go on then," I told him, resigned to his next words.

"Huh?" Emmett looked confused.

"Give me your opinion, tell me how wrong this is; how we could lose our kids if they took this news badly…"

Emmett paused momentarily, making me pause with him before he seemed to notice and pick up the slow dance again. "You think that could happen?"

"You don't?"

He seemed to think about my words for a few seconds before commenting. "I think everyone in my family has noticed how much happier Edward has been these last few weeks, including Jake. They don't know the reasons behind it, but they've noticed and just want him to be happy."

"Me too, Em, but it complicated."

Emmett scoffed. "I've seen the way he looks at you, the way he is when you're around. It reminds me of teenage Edward, the more carefree and jovial man he was before Kate fucked him over."

I was surprised by Emmett's strong words.

"I want him to be that man, but how can he when we can't even tell our kids about us," I said softly.

"Don't you think you should be saying this to Edward, not me?"

I looked into Emmett's eyes; he was more clued up than he let on. "Probably, there's just never a good time because any time we get alone we don't want to spent it talking about the kids and now … well, our kids' wedding night doesn't seem like good timing either."

"I guess not." Emmett conceded.

Thankfully, other couples were now joining us on the dance floor; the music moved up a tempo, and Rosalie joined Emmett and me, and then we broke apart. I made the excuse of needing the restroom and left them to it.

When I returned to the ballroom, I found myself sitting with Kate and Tanya, which may have been intentional on Kate's part as she didn't waste time chatting to me.

"So," she leaned in conspiratorially, raising her voice above the music in the room. "How well do you know your daughter's new family?"

I choked a little on my drink and tried not to hesitate in my answer. _Be natural, Bella_. "I'm still getting to know Jake's whole family."

She held my gaze as she nodded at me. "They're fiercely loyal. God help anyone who fucks with this family, I should know."

I must have looked shocked at her words as she held my wrist and leaned into me in a friendly gesture. "Oh, don't worry, Bella. As long as you don't repeat my mistake and break Edward's heart, you'll be just fine."

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Good to know!"

She chuckled before turning to look at Edward, who was across the room, standing with his mom and dad, throwing his head back in laughter. "God, he's aged well. I mean, he was always handsome, but I'd forgotten quite how sharp that jawline is, photos do not do him justice."

Jeez, I was learning Kate was a straight talker who had no reservations about speaking her mind. I looked sideways at her as my expression must have conveyed my shock at her words.

"I can still admire a handsome man. My time with him was a lifetime ago."

She took a sip of her drink, not taking her eyes off Edward. "It's odd seeing him again. We'd never have stayed in each other's lives if it weren't for Jake, I'm kind of glad we had a reason though, he's one of the good guys." Kate's expression had softened, but I wondered if the alcohol was making her say things she'd regret in the morning.

She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts, then again leaned into me. "Bella, Jake told me about Vanessa's dad. I'm so sorry he can't be here today."

Kate looked genuine as her hand squeezed my wrist, and I tried to force a smile.

Sam's absence had been nagging at the back of my mind all day. I didn't want to dwell on it, especially in front of Nessie, but Kate's words made my resolve break.

"Thank you." I choked out, my voice breaking even though I'd only uttered two words.

I didn't usually think about Sam, except for the odd birthday or special date, but today was different. He wasn't here to walk Nessie down the aisle, give a father of the bride speech, dance with her, or give Jake a hard time about looking after his little girl. My eyes welled up as I thought of everything Nessie had missed out on over the years. I was mortified to be getting upset in front of a relative stranger, so I stood and excused myself to a confused looking Kate.

"I'm so sorry; I just need some air."

I left through the double doors that led outside, pleased for the cool air, and even more pleased when I realized no-one else was there.

However, I wasn't alone for long; within seconds, I heard familiar footsteps as Edward's concerned face found mine.

"Bella, are you okay?" He sounded worried and mad.

I nodded, not trusting my own voice.

"I saw you talking to Kate. Did she upset you? I'll talk to her...she has no right…" His jaw was set, and his eyes were darting back through the open door as he seemed uncertain whether to stay outside with me or going back inside, presumably to speak to Kate.

"No, Edward, she was just asking me about Nessie's family. I was talking about Sam, and … and it just hit me. He's not here. He's really not here." I choked on the last few words, and Edward's face immediately softened.

He closed the gap between us and pulled me into a hug in such a fluid, natural action I felt like he'd been in my life for years, not months. He rested his chin on the top of my head as I rested my weight on his broad chest, and he wrapped his arms tightly around me, cocooning me next to his strong warm body.

He swayed a little with me in his arms and sighed as I closed my eyes, enjoying his strength and appreciating having someone to talk to about this—someone to share the burden with and someone to hold me.

"I'm so sorry, Bella." He kissed the top of my head as I sniffled into his shirt.

"It's Nessie, I feel for."

"Well, if it's any consolation, she's having a blast. She was smushing another piece of cake into Jake's face a minute ago, and they were deciding which to torture the guest with first, the Macarena or that god-awful Ketchup song."

I laughed but didn't move; I was enjoying Edward's hug too much.

After a minute spent in comfortable silence, the familiar beat of the Macarena floated out to us.

I felt his chuckle from his chest before I heard it. "Let's stay here for a few more minutes and avoid that!" he joked. Part of me wanted to see Edward attempt that dance, but I was more than happy to stay in his embrace, even if we probably should move before someone spotted us.

As if thinking along the same lines, Edward spoke.

"Bella, I know after today, things might change. Your daughter is now my daughter-in-law. I hadn't really thought through the reality of that before. I've never had a daughter, and she's the closest I'll ever get to a daughter of my own, which makes me wonder what the crap we're doing. Then...then we're together, and I hold you like this, and it doesn't matter. The kids are happy, and we're happy, and that seems to be all that's important."

I nodded. "I know. Sometimes everything seems so complicated, but then other times, other times, this is so easy I don't know what we're worried about."

As I spoke, I felt Edward's body jerk, and he stepped back from me so fast I was thrown off balance. I'd been leaning on his chest, so I stumbled before I regained my footing and saw what, or who had made him move so fast, and I almost face-planted the ground.

Angela was grinning at me as I relaxed my beating heart, relieved the reason for Edward's concern was a false alarm.

"Bells, I came to find you, this is our song, we rock this dance…but now I see you're…occupied."

"Oh, we weren't…" Edward started as I placed my palm on his chest.

His eyes went wide as he looked at me in confusion.

"It's okay. This is my bestie, Angela."

Angela smiled at him. "Nice to meet you. Bella's told me _a lot_ about you."

"Oh." Edward seemed to relax his shoulders a little but still had a questioning look on his face.

"Yeah, it's okay," I assured him. "I talk to Angela like you talk to Emmett. She's the only person I've told about us."

"Okay. Well… hi Angela, perhaps we can catch up later, for now, I feel like you and Bella are going to talk about me, so I'll let you ladies catch-up."

I chuckled as he turned to me. "I'll be back in there. Come and find me, I don't think it will be long until the kids are done for the night."

"Sure." I nodded and again felt that tension between us at his words.

Edward leaned down and gently brushed a kiss onto my forehead. "Good." He then turned to walk back inside. "Nice to meet you, Angela." He told her with a wave and a grin that looked so heartfelt I went a little weak at the knees.

"You, too," she mumbled before turning to me and squealing.

"Eeeek! Oh my god, Bella!" She grabbed my arm and shook it. "Damn, girl!"

"Hush!" I tried to calm her down, knowing full well Edward was still in earshot and would love the ego boost he'd get from hearing her words.

"Bella, he is H-O-T!"

"I know!" I assured her.

"Jesus. No wonder you couldn't stay out of his bed!"

"Angie!"

"What? I kinda thought you'd lost your mind getting involved with your son-in-law's dad, but now…now I get it! Christ, Bella, the way he looks at you…damn!"

I smiled at her words. I hadn't been able to tell anyone else about Edward and me, and it felt good to introduce him to the one and only person I had told.

After a few more questions from Angela, I tried to weigh up which was the lesser of two evils; stay outside and let Angela continue to quiz me about my relationship with Edward or return inside to the damn Macarena. I decided the dance was the way to go. "Come on, let's show these youngsters how this dance is really done."

**A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time.**

**Please check out my beta Frannie's Facebook group, a friendly place to discuss Twilight and Fanfiction. You'll need to replace the dot with a . as i cant post a direct link here.**

www dot facebook dot com/groups /896806390388220/**  
**

**Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received. I honestly read every single one (many times) and squeal a little when I get a new review. I haven't replied individually to reviews as I figured you'd rather I use my limited time to write the story rather than reply to reviews but please be assured I very much appreciate them. If you have a specific question/comment that you want a reply to, please PM me and I'll answer that way.**

**Please continue to let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue.**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Bella:

Dancing with my girls was a lot of fun, and a lot less dangerous than my dance with Edward. Nessie joined Angie and me, and soon, most of the room was dancing to cheesy choreographed routines and having fun.

As the evening wound down, Nessie and Jake were caught up in a string of goodbye hugs and congratulations as the guests started to leave. Soon, only close family members were left.

Kate and Tanya were standing with Edward's parents, next to Edward and Emmett, as Nessie and Jake approached. They were about to leave for their room, then their honeymoon in the morning.

There were more hugs all round as Emmett joked about them not getting any sleep tonight.

"That's true," Edward started. "Nessie, I don't know how you put up with Jake's snoring; he was awful in my room last night…"

"Ha, you can talk!" I blurted out with an amused scoff, before realizing about one second later what it was I'd said.

Oh Shit!

All eyes in the room turned to me.

Shit, shit, shit!

Everyone's eyes were boring into me, including Edward's, who looked utterly horrified. Emmett spluttered out a loud, nervous laugh and Kate nudged Tanya in unspoken communication.

I froze.

Oh Shit! Shit, shit, shit! What the hell had I just said! I didn't think. It just came out, and now Jacob and Nessie were looking at me, waiting for me to elaborate.

But it was Kate who was the first to actually speak. "How do you know Edward snores?" She said, asking the question everyone was wondering.

Edward rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and looked somehow even more uncomfortable than I felt.

I squared my shoulders, stood up taller, and looked Kate in the eyes as I spoke. "The first night I met Edward, I slept at his place."

I don't know what on earth possessed me to make it sound like something had happened between Edward and me, especially when I was trying desperately to cover the fact that something was, in fact, happening between us. But it was worth it to see the look of surprise on Kate's face.

She raised her eyebrows and looked at Edward, who nodded in confirmation, a small grin now playing on his lips as he saw how put out Kate was.

"… with Vanessa and Jacob," I added. "It was New Year's Eve, so we all stayed up until midnight, and then it made sense to stay over."

"Oh." Kate didn't have anything else to say as I continued. "Although, maybe now that I think about it, it could have been Jacob I heard snoring down the corridor. I assumed it was Edward, but... who knows?" I shrugged, trying to add nonchalance to my tone.

"Anyway…" Emmett clapped his hands together before going in for a hug with Nessie. "Have a great honeymoon if I don't see you in the morning. I have no plans to be up early!" I secretly thanked Emmett for changing the subject as I dared to glance at Edward.

He gave in to the grin he was trying to suppress as he shook his head fondly at me.

I bit my lip, making sure I didn't say anything else inappropriate before I hugged Nessie goodnight and assured her I would be up to see her in the morning before they left for their flight.

Edward:

"Christ, Bella, that was close." I joked with Bella when she opened her hotel room door and dragged me inside by the lapels of my tux.

I smiled, pleased she was in a playful mood too.

"Mmmm, whoops!" She mumbled. "Maybe if you didn't snore so loudly, we wouldn't have a problem."

My lips left hers long enough to grin at her. "I'm not sure either of us will get the chance to snore much tonight anyway!"

She nodded and set to work on my shirt buttons, not stopping until they were all done, and she was pushing the fabric aside.

I watched as her eyes widened and she pushed the shirt and jacket off my shoulders in one swift movement. I let the material fall off my arms and watched the lust in her eyes as her fingers traced over my chest.

Now that I was shirtless, she unexpectedly pushed me down on the bed, but I willingly fell, happy to let her take the lead.

"Oomph." I landed on the soft mattress as Bella smiled.

She stood between my legs at the end of the bed and whipped off her dress. It had looked so beautiful on her all night, accentuating those bare shoulders and displaying her neck in a way that made me want to suck the delicate skin there. Her waist was curved in, and her legs were smooth and long despite her small frame. Now that the probably expensive dress was in a heap on the floor, the version of Bella that now stood in front of me looked even more magnificent. Her underwear was a navy-blue set, matching her dress perfectly.

I leaned up, propping myself on my elbows to get a better look at her, but she straddled my waist, and pushed my chest back down. I groaned at her body meeting mine at the most intimate of places.

"Edward..." she spoke through gritted teeth like she was having a hard time holding herself together. She rocked her hips slowly back and forth, on top of mine. "Oh, God, yes!" She groaned, and I sucked in a deep breath at the sudden rise of need she provoked in me.

This has been building all day, with the kiss in the elevator when we should have been with our kids, calming them and supporting them, to the way Bella looked at me when she walked down the aisle, right into my eyes, right into my soul. To the dinner, where we'd snuck away for more kisses, more frantic tux talk, and more lust building. Then that damn dance. Christ, I was mad at my brother, but in hindsight, Emmett was right to interrupt us. I was getting far too handsy for the situation.

Now, however, I could finally act on these feelings. Finally, acknowledge the lust in Bella's eyes because this time, alone in her hotel room, we could finally touch.

I looked at Bella as she sat above me, her hands stroking and gripping my chest. Her eyes were drinking in my body, and I tried to give her time to enjoy it; tried to hold back and build up slowly to what we both knew would happen. It wasn't working though; I was gripping Bella's thighs, trying desperately to keep my hands there and not progress this until Bella was ready. She was clearly enjoying my chest right now, and I wanted that to continue until she was done. I realized pretty quickly, though, that she might never be done, never stop wanting more, and I kind of liked that thought.

I moved my hands further up Bella's thighs, my fingers dipping under the edge of her lacy panties, stroking her delicate skin and smiling when even that didn't detract her from my chest.

She moved her hands to my biceps, holding them, feeling the muscles there, which seemed to make her hip movements more frantic.

"Bella?"

She looked me in the eyes, brown meeting green. Me meeting her. "Do I need a condom?"

She bit the corner of her lip as she shook her head no, and I raised my eyebrows.

"I'm protected."

"Oh!" I groaned the thought of going into Bella bare had just rammed my body up further into a gear I didn't know I had.

"Fuck, what are we waiting for then?"

From then on, we were frantic. Underwear was thrown; landing on top of lamps and under beds and who knows where else because it wasn't under the bed I was looking at; it was on top, where our bodies were melting seamlessly into one as we tried to make up for the days, weeks, months of want between us.

She whimpered, just a small sound, but it said so much. She was enjoying this, enjoying me and my body; she was desperate for more, and I was happy to oblige, happy to go deeper, faster, harder.

I wanted this to last forever, I wanted to hear her breaths as she raised her head, and I kissed and sucked at her exposed neck while she breathlessly whimpered, my new favorite sound, wordlessly telling me she needed a fraction more, more of me, more of us.

Seconds later, her body reacted to mine in the best possible way, and she fell, over and over, just seconds before I did.

We both laid still, breathing deeply but still intertwined, our bodies still together, still needy for each other.

'Oh, Christ!" I exclaimed minutes after calming our breathing and giving our minds a chance to catch up with what our bodies had done.

Bella lifted her head to look at me and grin. "Yeah, that was... amazing."

"I didn't think it would get any better then..."

She chuckled, but I was serious. Teenage Edward though sex was good, but in hindsight, he didn't have a clue what he was doing. Edward, post-Kate, was floundering between being desperate to find the love of his life and just plain desperate for sex of any kind. Never before had I had a connection like this. Never before had I wanted a woman this much, but also felt wanted and attractive and needed in return. Now, Edward, in his late forties, was genuinely reaching new highs he didn't know existed, and it felt fantastic. I silently cursed all the years I could have been having mind-blowing sex but instead was on the couch on a Saturday night, beer for one, while my son slept upstairs. I acknowledged the timing had never been right for me to meet someone then… but right now, the timing wasn't right either; that was still all wrong.

It was the person, though. It was Bella that made this different. Our connection and our emotions were all-consuming, despite the bad timing of our meeting, and now being related.

Related…

Now…

Today...

I scrubbed my hand over my face as I physically tried to wipe that thought from my head.

Bella seemed to sense my emotions, but I didn't want to drag us down. Something that made us both so happy shouldn't bring feelings of guilt. I shifted on my side to face her. I grinned, covering up my fleeting thoughts and returning to the emotions I'd felt all evening—lust, need, desire, and plain old happiness.

She grinned back at me, and I dropped a kiss on her soft lips.

"Wanna grab a shower together?"

She nodded. "Good idea."

**A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received. I honestly read every single one (many times) and squeal a little when I get a new review. I haven't replied individually to reviews as I figured you'd rather I use my limited time to write the story rather than reply to reviews but please be assured I very much appreciate them. If you have a specific question/comment that you want a reply to, please PM me and I'll answer that way.**

**Please continue to let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue.**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Edward:

"Ed, seriously, we're slammed with bookings, surely you know someone who can carry some plates and remain upright at the same time."

"Yes," I retorted, checking the ice machine was cold enough before I turned back to him. "Your son, you know, the kid who usually fills in for us."

Emmett glowered good-naturedly at me. "Trust me, I'd love nothing more than to drag Seth's butt out of bed, but he's genuinely ill. I don't want to serve the diners a side of snot with their meal."

"Ewww," I screwed up my nose in disgust.

"Your son, meanwhile," Emmett started,"… is off shagging our star waitress, on a vacation you paid for, so I vote it's you who needs to sort out this mess."

"Em. Jesus! I did not need that visual."

He clapped me on the shoulder as he passed me, grinning like a fool. "Maybe his mother-in-law can help?"

Emmett disappeared into the kitchen, the doors flapping closed behind him as I signed.

As much as I wanted to see Bella, I didn't want to involve her in our business. Our lives were intertwined and mixed up far too much already, adding a business arrangement to that mess didn't seem like a good idea to me.

It had been a week since Jacob and Vanessa's wedding, and Bella and I hadn't wasted much time; we'd been around to each other's houses and enjoyed seeing each other without the worry of the kids turning up at any moment. I was much more relaxed now the wedding was out the way. The last time I saw Kate on the night of the wedding, she had made it clear she wouldn't be much of a fixture in my life going forward.

_Once I'd left Bella's room, I walked to mine and had gotten dressed rather half-heartedly. I didn't tuck my shirt in and only did up half the buttons. I was only going to get changed again._

_Except, I was one corridor away from my room when a familiar face rounded the corner and locked eyes with me._

_Kate was barefoot, carrying her shoes in one hand and holding her cell to her ear with the other. I assumed she was talking to Tanya as she announced she wouldn't be too much longer as she was already on her way back. When she spotted me, she grinned and ended the call._

_Her eyes roamed my body, taking in my appearance before she spoke. "Well, well, well."_

"_Kate, if you have something to say, just say it." I didn't want to play her games. I adjusted the tux jacket I had slung over my right shoulder. My shirt remained untucked, my bow tie, undone, round my neck, and my hair disheveled. Damn it._

_Kate sighed. She took her time weighing her words as I waited. She shook her head gently before sighing. "Never mind, that's none of my business, but there is actually something I wanted to talk to you about before I left in the morning."_

_I nodded. "Go ahead."_

"_Maybe not here, in the corridor," she suggested, her voice now more gentle. "Can we go to your room?"_

_I silently agreed that we probably shouldn't have any meaningful conversation in the hotel corridor, but I didn't want her in my hotel room, either. _

"_Perhaps we can go somewhere more neutral?" I suggested. _

_She shrugged. "Sure, whatever." _

_Kate and I headed back to the hotel lobby, where we were thankfully the only guests around. We sat on the sofa next to the open fireplace, which had the potential to be romantic, except I was here with Kate, not Bella. _

_She sat at one end of the sofa, and I sat at the other, both angled towards the middle in an awkward stance. Kate crossed one long, lean leg over the other, her short dress riding up slightly before she tugged it down a little, and I looked away._

"_Edward, I wanted to say that I appreciate everything you've done for Jacob. I always knew you were doing it all, but I didn't really stop to think exactly how much that entailed." _

_I scoffed. "I didn't do it for you, Kate." _

"_I know." She looked down, examining her manicured nails intently before she looked back up at me. "He's such an amazing man. I know I don't have any right to say I'm proud of him, but I hope you're proud of the job you've done."_

_I knew Jacob was a good kid who'd grown into a man I was fiercely proud of, but it was good to hear it from her. "What's brought all this on?"_

_Kate looked up at me. "It's just really hit me today how grown-up Jacob is."_

"_I know you've missed almost all his birthdays, but surely you knew how old he was?" I asked her sarcastically._

"_Of course, but when I saw him standing at the altar today, he looked… like a grown man. The baby I left needed a mommy, and I couldn't do it. The kid in the photos with grazed knees and sweaty hair needed a mom, and I wasn't there. Now, this Jake … he's a grown man. He looks like a grown man. He's taller than me; he's a husband now. Edward … I don't know how to parent that person."_

_I don't know why I was surprised by her words. She'd never been a parent to him, what would that change now? _

"_That's because you've never tried!"_

"_Edward. I'll reply to his messages, I'll send birthday cards, and I have no doubt there will be a grandbaby to meet sooner rather than later, but I don't want to raise his hopes. I don't know how to parent this six-foot, grown man."_

"_He may be six feet and grown-up, but he's always wanted his mom." I swallowed. Admitting that I wasn't enough for Jake was hard, but it was the truth. _

_Kate smiled at me softly. "I doubt he's wanted for much with you around."_

"_Kate, please try. Just text him, call him, all he's ever wanted is to know you care, to know you haven't forgotten about him."_

_She nodded. "I'll try and do more. Be better. But I guess it's just as well you and Bella have the parenting well covered."_

_I shot Kate a warning look; some of her comments were close to the bone._

_She stayed silent and rubbed her palms on her thighs. "I 'd better get back to Tanya."_

_And just like that, Kate was gone. It was too soon to tell if she'd stay in Jacob's life in any meaningful way, but I hoped for his sake she would._

"Just phone her, you punk." Emmett's voice blared out from the kitchen, bringing me back to the problem at hand and making me contemplate my options.

One minute later, I was pulling my phone from my back pants pocket and calling Bella, all the while secretly hoping she either wouldn't pick up or would be busy. Then I could report to Emmett that I'd tried without any real harm done.

No such luck. She answered on the second ring.

"Hi, sorry to interrupt your Sunday; this is more of a business call, I'm afraid." I was well aware Emmett was in earshot of this call, so I tried to keep things professional.

"What do you mean?"

" I don't suppose you're free today…like now? With Jake and Nessie both away, we've already drafted in our backup staff, aka my mom and dad, and now another of the wait staff has called in sick. We barely have any front of house staff this afternoon, and there's a big party booked at midday. Are you free to help? We'll pay the going rate…"

"Edward …" she interrupted, "… you want me to waitress? I'm pretty clumsy, I've never done it before."

"At this point, I'd take anyone who can walk and is legally old enough to work," I joked.

"Sounds like a low bar!"

"If you can't make it, it's fine, Emmett wanted me to ask you…"

Emmett bustled out the kitchen and walked so close to me that his mouth was almost on the mouthpiece. "Please, Bella, we neeeeeed you!" His voice was jovial, and I heard Bella laugh in reply.

"Okay, if you're really stuck, I'll give it a go."

I signed in relief and with the possible anticipation of seeing her again. I hadn't realized how much I wanted her to say yes, just so I could see her. Screw the restaurant; now I could see her all afternoon without the kids around to observe us.

"Thank you; you're a lifesaver."

Emmett gave me a questioning look, and I gave him a thumbs-up, and he nodded and smiled.

"So," Bella continued. "Do I have to wear anything in particular?"

I spluttered, as an audible groan escaped my lips, which I instantly regretted. I couldn't stop my mind picturing Bella in a traditional black and white waitress outfit, her skirt a little too short, her top a little too tight and a little too low cut, bending down a little too far as she asked me what it was she could do for me today…

"Edward?"

Shit! Bella was saying something. "Sorry?"

"I meant, is there a uniform or something?"

Christ, she was determined to kill me. I let out a startled cough in an attempt to cover another groan.

Emmett gave me an odd, amused look as I turned away from him.

"Um, no, just wear something smart, and we'll give you a restaurant apron to put over the top."

Emmett chuckled behind me, no doubt working out what we had been discussing.

"That was your chance," he informed me when I ended the call.

"What?"

"That was your chance to get her into one of those skimpy waitress outfits. She could totally pull it off." He clapped me on the back as I gulped at that visual.

"Jesus, Emmett," I mumbled under my breath as he chuckled at me.

I needed Bella at the restaurant in less than an hour in order to give me time to prep her, so I made sure to finish the rest of my jobs quickly.

I was standing with my back to the main door when I heard it open. I grinned, dried my hands on the dishcloth over my shoulder, and spun around, eager to see Bella.

"Oh."

My mom shook out her umbrella as she bustled inside, chuckling at me as my face fell.

"We thought you'd be pleased to see us. Emmett said you're desperate for staff?" My dad asked as I plastered a smile back on my face.

"Of course, I am, I was just expecting someone else…"

"Who…"

"Hi." Bella walked in and greeted us all, knowing my parents from the wedding—the wedding of her daughter and my son, remember that one, Edward—the wedding that made the two of you family … family who really shouldn't sleep together.

I was so busy reminding myself not to inappropriately greet Bella that I hadn't replied to her at all; now, her and both my parents were staring at me.

"Ummm, hi. Thanks, all of you, for helping. We'll be fine once Jake and Nessie get back and Seth's well again, but for today, you've really saved my ass." I told them all as I rounded the counter.

Bella's eyes dropped to my actual ass, but I tried not to acknowledge that. She then shook her hair a little, wiping the fine rain off her cheeks as she folded her umbrella and mumbled under her breath about the storm building outside. Just what we needed, that meant all the diners would drag the rain in with them and we'd need to mop the entranceway constantly this afternoon.

My mom and dad knew exactly what needed doing, so they headed to the kitchen for Emmett to boss about as I stood in front of Bella and pulled a rolled-up apron from my back pocket.

"Hi." I greeted her in a softer tone, now that we were finally alone.

"Hi." She smiled back, looking like she wanted to lean in for a kiss. Even though the kids weren't here, the rest of my family was, so we both held each other's gaze for a few beats too long before I dropped the apron over her head. Crossing the strings round the back of her waist, then tying them at the front, I tried not to inhale the scent of her perfume and shampoo; the scent that reminded me of being in her house…in her bed…in her.

Fuck! Edward, get a grip!

I drew in a deep breath and gathered myself. We stood looking at each other, both unaware of how close we were now standing, closer than two colleagues usually would.

Mom bustled out of the kitchen, which broke our spell. I shook my head and took a step back. "Have you heard from the kids?" I asked as I showed her to the staff lockers where she could leave her belongings.

"Nessie sent me this picture of a cute pig at like two a.m., but other than that, no. You?"

"No., Funnily enough, Jake doesn't send me many cute pig pics!" I laughed as Bella placed her phone in the back pocket of her really, tight-fitting jeans before she secured her handbag in the locker I was holding open for her.

"Shame." Bella joked. "It was cute."

"Hmmm, don't get attached to any pigs, they aren't so cute in that kitchen." I spun her around to face the kitchen as I pointed to the doors my parents had disappeared through.

"I guess not." She looked a little crestfallen, so I changed the subject and got back to explaining the table numbering system, the menu, tonight's specials, and the app customers could now use for loyalty points.

As time went on, her eyes glazed over at all the information I was passing on, and she nibbled adorably at her lip when she tried to recall information I'd already told her.

"Oh, Christ, Edward, how am I going to remember everything? I don't want to let you down." Bella was looking worried. I'd spent the last forty-five minutes trying to teach her what would take weeks to learn properly.

It was now only fifteen minutes until we opened, and my mom was behind the counter, arranging the newly washed glasses and cutlery.

I smiled at Bella as I held her shoulders and bent to make her look at me. "You won't let anyone down; I'll be right here to help. The main thing is to take orders and deliver food; you'll do great." I leaned forward to drop a kiss on her forehead. I was so close I could smell her hair, so close I could almost taste her skin, but I managed to stop just in time, milliseconds before my lips touched her skin.

I froze and withdrew with an embarrassed cough.

Fuck, I didn't mean to do that, it felt so natural I'd forgotten I shouldn't do it. I needed to check myself because I couldn't go doing that with my family around. What if next time that was the kids?

"Sorry… I… didn't mean to … I … fuck…" I turned and walked away, and Bella didn't object. I dared not look over to my mom to see if she'd seen us; I just kept my head down and headed for my office. I slammed the door closed and leaned back against it, taking in a few deep breaths as I tried not to slide down to the floor and rest there for a few days.

Damn. This was getting harder than I ever thought it would be. I'd nearly fucked up, big time. I knew my heart was getting far too involved in our relationship, our fling, or whatever the hell we were to each other.

I ran my hands through my hair and down my jawline, internally cursing myself for feeling like this. After a few more minutes, I stood and sat behind my desk, shuffling some pieces of paper so I could feel justified hiding in here when it was soon to be chaos on the restaurant floor.

I looked up a few minutes later when there was a timid knock on the door. "Edward?"

Shit! That was Bella.

**A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received. I honestly read every single one (many times) and squeal a little when I get a new review. I haven't replied individually to reviews as I figured you'd rather I use my limited time to write the story rather than reply to reviews but please be assured I very much appreciate them. If you have a specific question/comment that you want a reply to, please PM me and I'll answer that way.**

**Please continue to let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue.**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

_I looked up a few minutes later when there was a timid knock on the door. "Edward?"_

_Shit! That was Bella._

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, come in."

She opened the door, stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

"Hey."

That one word and the look in her eyes was all it took for all my resolve to melt away. She had a mixture of lust and mischief floating in her eyes as she was walking closer and closer to me.

"So, this is where you're hiding."

"I just … I needed a minute."

She nodded, stopping onthe other side of the desk and grinned at me. She sat on the edge of my desk, one of her butt cheeks on the dark wood, her legs crossed as she angled her body to look at me.

"Baby, you aren't helping my attempts to keep my hands off you." Her expression was playful as I sighed and tried to maintain my calm, curling my hands into fists as I tried to remain seated.

She shrugged and looked unapologetic.

I realized I was fighting a losing battle; I couldn't resist her, so I stood up and rounded my desk.

Immediately we fell into each other's arms, my hands finding her ass and hers finding my chest as our mouths found each other. It had been too long since I'd kissed her, and now that we were finally alone, I didn't want to waste another second.

"Damn, I wanted to do that since you first walked through the door," I told her when we finally broke apart, and she started to smooth over my now wrinkled shirt.

"Hmmm…" she hummed in delight. "So, this is your office?"

"Yep."

"Where you're in charge?"

I scoffed, now knowing where she was going with this.

"Yep." I played along as she eyed the desk, then me, then the desk again.

"Maybe I'll have to pop by here one night when you're working late…" She ran a finger along the edge of the desk and looked back over her shoulder at me.

"Oh, damn, yes, please," I groaned at her suggestion, wondering how on earth I was going to get through the rest of this shift with that image planted in my mind.

There was then a swift knock at the door, followed by Emmett's head poking through the now open doorway.

"Hey, I thought I might find you both here," he waggled his eyebrows at me, and I raced around my desk and immediately started sifting through papers to look busy, and Bella hopped down from the desk and dusted herself off.

"I was just getting Bella to fill out papers; we have to pay her some way, right?"

"I'll let you take care of Bella's payment, Bro," he informed us with just enough seriousness to take the sleaziness out of his joke and make it sound genuine. "I was just checking as to where you'd disappeared. Now I know."

Bella looked a little uncomfortable as she announced. "I'll leave you to it." She left and closed the door behind her as I turned to Emmett.

"Bastard," I grumbled to Emmett as I passed him.

"You're the one sleeping with your son's mother-in-law!" He defended himself.

"Shut up, we're… " We were more than that, but I didn't want to admit it to my brother. I didn't want to admit to him how I was falling for Bella, because then I'd have to admit it to myself. And Jacob. "We're…we are…"

"Living in denial, that's what you're doing," he chuckled as he turned and strode off for the kitchen, leaving me to watch two more couples enter through the double-door entrance and drip rainwater over the newly mopped floor.

I scrubbed a hand down my face, and with a sigh, I left my office for the restaurant floor. Bella was distracting, and it was hard hiding my actions around my family, but I wanted to make the most of seeing her, and I actually did have to get some work done.

Bella was a natural in the restaurant. She charmed the customers, and judging by her tips, she was a hit with everyone, including grumpy Mr. Newton, who never tipped anyone. She chatted and laughed with the regulars and was starting to look the part, too. She had paper straws and napkins tucked into her pockets and a pen behind her ear. I watched as she adjusted her apron, and I know I should have looked away, but I couldn't quite manage it.

Even though Emmett was slammed in the kitchen, he still seemed to catch me when I was admiring Bella, and I knew I needed to snap out of it when my parents were close.

What I couldn't resist was brushing past her occasionally, or perhaps frequently. My hand would brush her leg and when I was sure no-one else was looking, her arse.

That was until my Mom bumped into me. "Son, do you wanna do some work today?" She spoke softly, and her words were full of amusement, but I was still embarrassed. I realized I'd been absentmindedly drying the countertop for far longer than necessary.

"I'm not…I wasn't…"

"Edward, you forget how well I know you!" With that, she picked up a tray of drinks and headed for table twelve.

I sighed in relief when we finally stopped serving food, and I practically jumped for joy when the last customer left. I told Bella she was free to leave, but she stayed to help close up, making the task complete a lot quicker.

With the majority of the work done, I loosened the top few buttons on my shirt and slumped on a seat, patting the empty chair next to me. Bella raised her eyebrows at me but sat anyway. My parents had left, and Emmett was clearing up in the kitchen. Bella kicked her heels off and rubbed her foot.

"Damn, my feet ache! Nessie's always grumbling about it, but now I finally understand. The struggle is real!"

I pulled her foot onto my lap and started rubbing the arch as she groaned slightly.

"Edward, they're probably sweaty," she protested half-heartedly.

"I've seen you sweaty before," I whispered as she closed her eyes in bliss, and I chuckled.

"Seriously, though, Bella, I really appreciate your help tonight."

"I had fun, actually," she told me, raising her head and looking at me as I wriggled in my seat to pull some cash from my trouser pocket.

"Well, this is for you, it's the going rate…"

"No. Edward, I helped you as a favor."

"Bella, you earned this…"

"No, really, give it to Nessie as a bonus or something."

I shook my head. "I'd love to, but I can't be seen favoring her among the other wait staff. They're wary of that already. Please take it; I need to balance the books."

"Hmm, I could just give it to Ness myself," she pondered out loud as I started rubbing her foot once more. I leaned forward and held her hand, placing the money in her now open palm. "No. It's yours. Treat yourself. Otherwise, I'll take it back and use it to buy you that handbag you want." I told her, nodding to the shop across the road as she looked at me, stunned.

"How do you know about that?" Her eyes narrowed in mock suspicion as I chuckled.

"You drool at it every time you look out the window," I told her, only realizing when the words were already out there that I'd given away how much I'd been watching her when she visits the restaurant. I shrugged, beyond caring at this point. "Seriously, treat yourself. It's Jake's job to look after Nessie now; that's how I brought him up. I mean, if they came to us for help, it's different, but I want to let them find their own feet…"

I trailed off, realizing I'd again brought up the kids. I didn't mean to, but sometimes it was hard to avoid them since Jake was such a big part of my life, and Nessie hers.

Damn. I lowered Bella's leg off my lap and stood up abruptly.

"Are you okay?" Bella questioned, sensing my change in mood.

I ran my hand through my hair, biding myself a few more seconds to put my mask back in place. I spun back round to face her. "Sure. Of course. Thanks again for today."

"Like I said, anytime." She slipped her feet back into her heels as she spoke. "Maybe next time I'll come in uniform…"

I knew she was trying to be playful and get me to smile, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't pretend everything was fine when we had this cloud hanging over our relationship. Our kids were married now, and we hadn't discussed what that meant for us.

"Okay, well, I'd better head home." She gestured to the door as she gathered up her bag and coat.

"Be careful out there; we haven't had rain as bad as this in months. Text me when you get home, yeah?" I tightened her coat around her shoulders and dropped a quick kiss on her forehead.

"Of course." She nodded and left, walking out into the rain.

Before I'd even turned around, Emmett was speaking, making me feel even worse. "Damn, I knew you two were close, but I didn't realize how serious you are about her."

I stayed silent as I turned to face him.

"Seriously, Edward, have you discussed telling the kids? I'm sure they'd understand if you explain that you're in love…"

"I'm what?" I finally looked at him properly, but he didn't relent.

Emmett scoffed. "Don't lie to me, Ed. Anyone can see you're in love with her!"

The conviction with which he spoke was annoying me, and I worried that if he could see it, then Jake and Nessie could too.

"Emmett, I'm not in love with her; have you seen how hot she is?!" I tried to joke with him, to throw him off the scent. I wasn't in love with her. Was I? No, I couldn't be. In order to be together properly, we'd have to tell our kids, and I had no idea how that conversation would go. We'd held off telling them to see how serious this relationship was, but now I worried the kids would only see that we had both been lying to them.

Emmett humorlessly chuckled as he patted me on the shoulder. "Yes, I've seen how hot she is. I've also seen how you look at her and how you talk to her and how…"

"Emmett, I'm not in love with her!"

My brother turned away from me with a puzzled look on his face. "Sure, bro, you keep telling yourself that."

"For Christ's sake, I'm not in love with Bella; we're just fooling around," I shouted the words, trying to convince myself more than Emmett, but at that exact time, the main doors next to me creaked open. The bell above the door tinkled, sounding ridiculously jovial in the now defining silence.

To my absolute horror, Bella crept inside, looking embarrassed. "I…I forgot this." She reached around the door frame and grabbed the umbrella she'd forgotten.

She looked up at my horror-struck face, and I knew in that instant that she'd heard my angry words. "Sorry for interrupting your conversation," she whispered before she turned and left.

I managed to burst out of my frozen stupor and shout after her. "Fuck! Bella, wait!" I reached for her arm, but she shrugged me off and slipped through the door.

"No, I have to go." I could tell from her tone that she was already crying.

I turned back to Emmett, who looked almost as horrified as I felt.

"Go after her, you dipshit!" He shouted urgently.

"She just heard me scream to the world that I don't love her!"

"Well, then I suggest you go and find her and tell her the truth. Because I know as sure as shit you were lying to me."

**A/N: ****Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received. I honestly read every single one (many times) and squeal a little when I get a new review. I haven't replied individually to reviews as I figured you'd rather I use my limited time to write the story rather than reply to reviews but please be assured I very much appreciate them. If you have a specific question/comment that you want a reply to, please PM me and I'll answer that way.**

**Please continue to let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue.**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**So, you know that angst I mentioned? We'll...it's time. I'm nervous to post this but this is always the way I saw this story going and I have to be true to that. Just remember I love a HEA. **

I left the restaurant in such a hurry I hadn't thought this through. I clearly hadn't been thinking properly all evening because I'd managed to flirt with my son's mother-in-law, kiss her in my office, and then tell her I wasn't in love with her, all in the same evening.

Still, there was no point worrying about that now; I needed to catch up to Bella, and fast. I didn't care that my feet were sloshing through newly formed puddles. I didn't care that these shiny suit shoes were not designed for running on wet sidewalks. I didn't care that I only had my white work shirt on, and that was rapidly turning see-through from the rain pelting my chest as I ran.

I held my head up, squinting in the rain as I resisted the need to duck my head because I needed to keep my eyes on Bella. I could see her in the distance, walking faster than I ever would have believed possible, she must be really mad! I saw a car's sidelights flash and realized Bella had unlocked her car up ahead.

"Bella! Bella, wait!" I shouted. Her small frame froze, and I knew she'd heard me. She looked up at me through the driving rain and thankfully stood close to her car as I caught up with her.

I dropped my hands onto my knees as I caught my breath. "Fuck! I used to be fit!"

Bella didn't laugh; my comment didn't break the ice; she just stared at me.

She may have been staring at my see-through shirt, staring straight to my chest, but I couldn't be sure because I was desperately focused on trying to even out my breathing enough to have a conversation with her.

"Edward, it's fine. I don't need an explanation. You made everything perfectly clear." Her voice was loud, but the rain still muffled it.

"Bella, please listen…"

"No. We were only fooling around, right?" She threw my own words back at me as she pulled her car door open. Reaching out, I flattened my palm on the cool, wet metal and slammed it closed.

"Please, don't leave…"

Bella now looked pissed. She defiantly opened the car door for the second time, and her cold stare challenged me to close it again.

I didn't.

As much as I didn't want her to leave, she needed to know she could if that was what she really wanted.

"Can we talk?" I asked, noting the rain was finally slowing, and now we could at least hear each other.

Both of us were soaking wet. At least Bella had a coat on, but I was trying not to shiver as my wet shirt clung to my chest. Ice cold rain was dripping from my now chaotic hair as I ran my hands through it to force out most of the water.

When I looked back to Bella, I couldn't tell if she was crying, or maybe those were rain droplets on her cheeks.

She shrugged as she clung to the top of the car door and stood behind it, placing a physical barrier between her and me. "What is there to talk about? We had fun, but this can't go anywhere. No point in carrying on now; the kids are married. We should take a break from whatever this is 

I blinked at her as I stood in the freezing cold rain. Had I heard that right? Did she want to take a break? Whatever we were to each other was over?

"A break." I mused to myself…was it a question or a statement? I said the words, testing the way they sounded when I said them. "We should...take a break?" I was stunned. I was crazy about her. I thought about her all the time, risked so much for her, and she wanted to **end** our relationship at the first sign of trouble?

She nodded. "Yeah, you said yourself we're just fooling around. The trouble is, I'm pretty sure Kate knows about us. Emmett knows too, so surely it's only a matter of time before the kids find out, and we wreck those relationships." Her voice was so harsh, her expression so stoic.

"Wreck them?" I repeated in disbelief. I looked up at her, staring into her eyes, desperately trying to work out if she was genuine. "You want a break, or to break up?"

She shrugged like she didn't see the difference. "I think that's for the best." She nodded to me defiantly.

"So…this is it then?"

"It looks that way." She seemed so certain as she spoke, and I was in too much shock to know what to say next.

"I'll see you around, you know, next time we meet up with the kids," she told me, sounding hurt but defiant.

"Bella, how the hell will that work?" I shouted as she flinched slightly at my tone.

"I don't know, Edward, but I guess we'll find out. We always knew we'd still be in each other's lives, even if we didn't work out. We just need to be adult about it."

"You think we can do that?" I scoffed.

"I think we'll have to." She told me, her tone much more serious than anything I'd previously heard. She lowered herself into the driver's seat, raising her eyebrows at me in a silent question. When I didn't say anything, she started the car's engine.

I didn't know what else to say, I was too stunned. I turned away. I couldn't stand here and have this insane conversation with her. There was no point in telling her I was in love with her, not now, when she clearly wanted out.

I didn't dare look back as I walked back to the restaurant, not feeling the cold rain, not caring that the water had soaked through my shoes and socks, down to my feet. I heard a car pulling away and finally looked over my shoulder to see the headlights of Bella's car disappearing, taking part of my heart away too.

Back at Masen's, I pulled open the heavy front door and trudged slowly inside.

"Hey, I've mopped that floor already, don't…" Emmett paused mid-sentence when he saw me continuing to the nearest table and folding myself into the chair. I leaned my arms on the table and dropped my head into my hands.

"Didn't go so well, huh?" For once, Emmett's voice wasn't jovial or sarcastic.

I was too dazed to talk to him; I didn't want his opinion, and I didn't need him telling me I'd screwed this up. I already knew that. The irony was, now that Bella was gone, I could see with astounding clarity that what I felt for her was real. What we had was real. It wasn't ideal, the circumstances were all wrong, but we were so right.

I heard the drag of chair legs over wooden floorboards and felt Emmett's presence when he reached for me.

"Don't," I pleaded, my voice cracking as I held up my hands to physically keep him away.

"What happened?" He dropped his hands, but his voice was full of pity I didn't want.

"I fucked up. She wants a break. Or a break-up. I'm not even sure." My hands balled into fists as I resisted the urge to punch, kick, or scream at anything and everything in my way.

"A break?"

I raised my head and glared at him. "Yes. So we're basically over."

"So, this isn't what you want?" He asked.

Fuck no, but I didn't want Emmett to know the depth of my feelings, so I just shrugged. "Emmett, it doesn't matter. I was stupid to think we'd ever work; I mean, come on, we can't even tell anyone about our relationship! How long could we have kept it from the kids, lied to them, lied to ourselves, telling each other everything was fine. This is apparently for the best."

"Really? You don't exactly seem pleased."

"Yeah, well, now things are going to be damn awkward every time we get together with the kids." I ran my hands down my face. "Damn! What the fuck were we thinking ever starting this?"

"You thought you could have something real."

I scoffed. "Not anymore." I stood and looked around the dining area. "Gah!" I screamed as I grabbed the nearest object, the stand of menus from the table I'd been sitting at, and threw it at the floor.

It tumbled and crashed with a satisfying noise as Emmett reached out and gripped my shoulders, no doubt worried what else I'd throw if I didn't calm down.

"Ed! Fuck! Surely you can fix this. You two are crazy about each other…"

"No!" My voice roared out of my throat in a sound even I didn't recognize. "No. I won't ask her to risk her relationship with her daughter for me."

Emmett stared at me as he took in my words.

He had no answer for that, and neither did I.

"So, you're just going to let her go? To give up?"

I shrugged as I tried to calm my heavy breaths. "If that's what she wants. Damn, this happened so quickly. I was kissing her in my office only a few hours ago and now…"

Emmett smiled sadly. "I noticed." He tried to joke.

I looked at the dining area and saw it was mostly clean and tidy. "Em, I can't close up, not right now. Leave the mess; I'll stay here tonight and come down early and do it tomorrow."

"I don't think you'll be in the right frame of mind to do anything in the morning. I'll do it; just make sure you text me if you need to because right now, I'm worried about you."

The next few days were miserable. I didn't go home the evening of our confrontation; I couldn't stand the thought of going back to the bed we'd slept in together, to the kitchen I'd cooked her breakfast in, and the doorstep I'd kissed her on.

Instead, I headed to the apartment above the restaurant. It was more of a small room with a bed and bathroom, but I'd used it plenty of times when I'd been too tired to drive or when I did a late close followed by early morning opening, which meant it wasn't even worth me going home between shifts.

That pokey apartment is where Emmett found me two days later. I'd shown up for work and gone through the motions, but he hadn't been fooled. When I opened the door after the fifth time he knocked, he took one look at me and rolled his eyes.

"Ed, you look like shit."

"Thanks," I sarcastically replied as he pushed past me, and I closed the door behind him. He took one look around the room then ran his eyes over me.

"I don't know what's in a worse state, this apartment, or you." He started dropping empty food containers into the bin and running the sink to wash up. The advantage of being holed up above the restaurant meant I had at least eaten well during my misery. The irony of us breaking up while the kids were away on their honeymoon had added salt to my very deep wound. It was time we should have been together more than ever; time we would have spent discussing how to tell the kids when they were back. Instead, there was nothing left to tell them.

"Emmett, I don't need your pity," I told him, shoving him out of the way as I took over washing the few plates I'd dirtied.

"No, you need a shower!" He made a show of wafting the air as if I smelled while he collected a few cups and dropped them in the water.

We tidied in silence. I knew Emmett would harass me soon enough; he hadn't come here as my cleaner; he'd come here to shake me out of my mood, so I knew the questions were on the tip of his tongue.

It didn't take long to tidy the small room and, even though I wouldn't admit it to him, it did make me feel a little better.

"Have you spoken to Bella?" Emmett asked as we both dropped onto the sofa.

"No." I'd hadn't texted her or called her in an effort to respect her request for 'a break.' But saying that to Emmett sounded too pretentious, so I clamped my mouth shut.

I could see him eying me and my appearance, noticing how I was in my sloppy tracksuit pants, the ones I'd never wear in public, and I hadn't bothered to shave in days.

"Edward, I've never seen you like this. I didn't know you two were that serious."

"We're not. We're '_on a break_'" I air quoted the ridiculous words with far too much sarcasm.

"You know what I mean." Emmett rolled his eyes at me. "Bro, you need to get your shit together. Jacob's back soon. What if he sees you like this?"

I scoffed. "He's so wrapped up in Nessie he'd never notice a thing."

It was Emmett's turn to scoff. "You're a fine one to talk!"

I looked at him, confused.

"You're so wrapped up in Bella; you haven't left this building in three days!" Emmett commented.

"I'm fine, Emmett. I just wanted a few more days to sulk before Jake's birthday lunch."

"Is she going to be there?"

"Yep. At the end of the week, Bella will be at my house, with you and me all of our family, for Jake's birthday."

"Ouch!" Emmett flinched. "You could try and talk to her. This misunderstanding can be cleared up…"

"Emmett, it isn't a misunderstanding—this wasn't about her hearing my words and not giving me a chance to explain. This was about those words giving her an excuse to do the inevitable and break up with me."

Emmett looked confused.

"You thought we were going to be together long-term? Because Bella sure as hell didn't."

"If this is about your kids, I think they have no right to dictate who you date."

"In an ideal world, no, but trust me, this is far from ideal."

"Edward, you forget I saw you two together at the wedding looking all moony-eyed at each other, sneaking off to the broom cupboard or wherever you found to get it on, laughing and doing who knows what in your office the other night…I've seen you together. You can't fool me. You deserve to be happy, bro. You've given up everything, _everything, _for Jacob, and he's taken it and run with it, as he should. Your son is a happy, confident, amazing young man, but now it's your turn to be happy too."

I swallowed at the lump in my throat. "Emmett, I can't lose him." That I knew for certain. I heard my voice crack as I said the words, and I knew Emmett heard it too. His face lost its anger and annoyance and filled with sympathy instead, and I didn't know which one annoyed me more.

"Edward, he wants you to be happy."

"Not with his mother-in-law!"

"Do you think that will matter to him? Okay, so Jake and Vanessa may take a while to get used to you and Bella being together, but if they see how happy you are _together,_ I'm sure they'll come around."

"But if they don't? What the fuck happens then? Jacob has been my life for almost twenty-three years; however, much I want Bella, I can't ignore how this may affect him. I can't bear to think he'd hate me for it, or not talk to me or think I've lied to him for months…"

Emmett clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Ed, he's not a monster! Surely he's noticed how well you and Bella get on?"

I shrugged. "I haven't exactly asked him."

"Well, maybe, you should."

**A/N: Thanks to my great team of people willing to help with this story. Frannie Walsh, ChristyWIX, RebAdams, Heather Stack Riggs and Julie Gotcha Dodge have giving up their time to beta and pre-read for this chapter. Any mistakes are my own because I tinker with this story all the time. **

**Thank you for the kind reviews this story has received. I honestly read every single one (many times) and squeal a little when I get a new review. I haven't replied individually to reviews as I figured you'd rather I use my limited time to write the story rather than reply to reviews but please be assured I very much appreciate them. If you have a specific question/comment that you want a reply to, please PM me and I'll answer that way.**

**Please continue to let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue.**


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